Cropping

DBA Lillaroi durum wheat excelled in first production year

Grain Central, March 28, 2017

Angus Murchison – DBA Lillaroi durum wheat grower

Northern NSW durum growers experienced great results with Durum Breeding Australia (DBA) durum wheat variety Lillaroi, even in the unusually wet 2016 season.

NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Durum Breeder, Dr. Gururaj Kadkol said there was some concern regarding the quality of the 2016 crop due to the wet conditions, however the variety produced high protein and good overall quality in the majority of the crops.

“On average the Lillaroi crop produced up 0.4% higher protein relative to Caparoi in DBA trials and it put more of the crops into DR1 grade,” Dr Kadkol said.

“It has been pleasing to see that the DBA Lillaroi grain quality has been very good and there have been no significant reports of DBA Lillaroi grain being downgraded due to black point or any other quality defects.

“DBA Lillaroi generally produced top grade DR1 grain wherever crops were top dressed with additional nitrogen and even some that were not top dressed achieved this result. Crops that were not top dressed generally achieved DR2 grade.

“The latest results, combined with the 2015 crop performance, demonstrate the adaptation of DBA Lillaroi to both wet and dry conditions.”

Spring Ridge farmer Angus Murchison has been growing irrigated durum and bread wheat crops regularly. This season he harvested an 8 tonnes/hectare DR1 crop of DBA Lillaroi.

“In 2015 I grew trial crops of a few different durum varieties, which out of these lines only DBA Lillaroi produced DR1 quality and good yield. In 2016 I planted a bigger crop of Lillaroi that produced high yield and DR1 quality,” Mr Murchison said.

“At planting I pre-drilled 250 kg urea and top dressed the crop the crop with 150 kg urea to improve grain protein. The sowing rate was 70 kg/ha on 15” row spacing and I applied 50 kg starter fertilizer with the seed. Lillaroi handled the extra nitrogen very well producing acceptable screenings and 15% grain protein. The crop harvested easily.

“I found Lillaroi has a good tolerance to black point and the quality to produce DR1 grain. Some of my neighbors have decided to start growing Lillaroi this season,” Mr. Murchison said.

Mullaley farmer, Ross Durham, Chairman of the Northern Durum Growers Association and winner of the 2015 Agricultural Societies Council durum crop competition, grew a DBA Lillaroi crop yielding 6 t/ha.

“After testing DBA Lillaroi in 2015 I grew a bigger crop of the variety in 2016,” Mr Durham said.

“It produced the best looking grain I have ever grown, with nearly 100% vitreous kernels, less than 1% screenings and great colour. The wet weather prevented me from top dressing the crop, but it still averaged 6t/ha and the protein content was just below 13%. This performance reaffirmed my confidence in the variety.”

“Lillaroi is also suited to dry and hot finishes. In 2015 we had the early October heat blast, but Lillaroi was spot on for high protein and low screenings. This variety really suits my farming practices,” Mr Durham said.

Mr Jack Gooderham from Tulloona, north of Moree also grew a DBA Lillaroi crop yielding 6 t/ha and achieved DR1 grade.

Mr Gooderham said his Lillaroi crop had excellent vigour, stood up very well, it was very even and it was a dream to harvest.

“I grew the crop on a long fallow. Its nitrogen status was very good so I only applied 40 kg starter fertiliser. As the season was wet, I conducted another soil test at flowering, which confirmed there was enough nitrogen and didn’t need to top dress the crop.

“Assuming we will get some rain soon, my 2017 durum crop will be 90% Lillaroi and 10% Kamilaroi,” Mr. Gooderham said.

Dr Kadkol said DBA Lillaroi has performed well over the last two years in a wide variety of dryland durum production regions in Queensland and southern NSW showing consistently high quality and good yield potential.

“It has also been grown successfully under irrigation on the Liverpool Plains.

“It has an excellent combination of quality, stress tolerance, disease resistance and yield potential. Therefore it will serve the durum industry well and be a part of the northern durum variety mix for a long time.”

Growers can get their DBA Lillaroi seed through Seednet.

DBA Lillaroi was developed by NSW DPI as part of Durum Breeding Australia (DBA), a joint project with the Grains Research & Development Corporation and The University of Adelaide.

Source: NSW DPI.

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