Gretchen barley being delivered. Photo: AGF Seeds

AUSTRALIAN barley growers are set to benefit from a new spring malt barley variety that will introduce European genetic diversity and disease resistance to the local market.

The variety Gretchen was recently accepted into the Grains Australia malt accreditation process, a first for an AGF Seeds barley variety.

If approved, the variety will bring genetics not previously available to Australian growers and a malt profile that has strong interest from the malting industry.

AGF Seeds R&D manager Brendan Torpy said the majority of Australian malting barley varieties were normally from a very limited group of Australian seed breeders.

“Gretchen is a spring barley well suited to the high and medium rainfall production areas with proven agronomic performance,” Mr Torpy said.

“It can also add a malt profile to the industry that is currently in short supply.

“Maltsters are interested in development of the variety because of the attributes of its malting profile.

“Micro malt testing shows that it doesn’t require the addition of gibberellic acid in the malting process to achieve quality malt, opening more possibilities for export markets.”

Gretchen barley. Photo: AGF Seeds

Gretchen also offers an improved disease-resistance package, particularly in net form of net blotch and scald which have increased in the variety RGT Planet and led to a downturn in production.

AGF Seeds has introduced Gretchen to the Australian market in partnership with prominent German plant-breeding company Breun Seed.

In official NVT and other independent trials, Gretchen has consistently achieved a 5-10 percent yield improvement over RGT Planet and shown competitive yield compared to Neo CL.

Mr Torpy said AGF Seeds would continue to source varieties from international breeders for screening and development in Australia.

“We can tap into the huge breeding resources of major international breeding companies and combine them with our ability to evaluate genetics in Australian conditions and release top varieties,” he said.

“If we are successful in achieving malt accreditation for Gretchen and we are confident that will happen, it adds a malt barley that brings genetic diversification, disease resistance, strong yield performance for growers and the right characteristics for maltsters.”

Source: AGF Seeds