A NEW barley variety that has shown high yield potential coupled with good straw strength will go into seed production this year.

Laperouse (tested as WI4952) will be available to growers in 2021. It has been successfully tested in the National Variety Trials system and other trials since 2016.

The new variety is undergoing malt accreditation, with a couple of commercial malt evaluation crops to be trialled this year.

Laperouse was bred by the University of Adelaide, with research contribution from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), and has been developed by French barley breeding company, Secobra.

It is the first variety Secobra has released in Australia.

Amanda Box, who bred the barley at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus in Urrbrae, South Australia, said Laperouse had been evaluated over several years in agronomic trials, with interest in its higher yield potential coupled with good straw strength and lodging resistance.

“Laperouse has performed well compared to varieties that are currently popular in the market, with best performance in medium to high rainfall regions of Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales,” Ms Box said.

“It has shown good grain yield and physical grain quality, as well as exceptionally good straw strength and standability.

“It is better suited to earlier sowing opportunities than other spring barley varieties.”

Laperouse has also been bred for improved performance under net and spot form of net blotch  disease.

The variety will be in seed production in 2020 and is expected to be available to growers in 2021.

Seed will be available from Seednet Partners across Australia. Seednet is a division of Nutrien Ag Solutions.

Source: Secobra