PROMISING NEW WHEAT

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31676, 11 May 1968, Page 8

PROMISING NEW WHEAT

A new wheat, still known only as a number, in 43 trials over the last two seasons had outyielded Aotea by 14.6 per cent, Mr L. G. Copp, senior cereal .breeder at the Crop Research Division, reported to the Wheat Research Committee this week. Mr Copp said that this promising variety 1020,01 had outyielded Aotea in a similar way to the way that Aotea had outyielded old Cross 7. So far this variety had been under test for only two years, he said, and it was normal to test anew variety for five yean, but they had already started to prepare for the pos-

sibility that it might be released. This took three or four years to do and if the committee in due course decided to release the wheat there would be pure seed available for this purpose. The chairman of the committee, Professor J. Packer, said that it could replace Aotea.

Mr Copp said that it was marginally better in baking quality than Aotea (it is the policy of the committee at present not to release a variety unless it is at least equal to Aotea in baking quality). Professor Packer said it would not be a replacement for Hilgendorf 61. If 1020,01 was released Mr Copp said that they would have to think about a higher price for Hilgendorf. Where higher yielding wheats mar-

ginally better in quality than Aotea were released Mr Copp said it would make it so much more difficult to gel high quality baking wheats grown. Mr Copp said that 946,01 had not yielded very much better than Aotea—only 0.5 per cent better in 58 trials over three seasons—but it had shown some promise in spring-sown trials in Canterbury. The new lines 790,01 and 1053,01 had given average yield increases above Aotea of 7.1 and 5.5 per eent respectively. The latter variety was attractive as it had a high degree of sprout resistance.

Milling and baking tests carried out at the Wheat Research Institute had shown that all four lines were marginally better than Aotea in quality.