Concern About Quality Of Overseas Wheats

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32059, 6 August 1969, Page 12

Concern About Quality Of Overseas Wheats

Although it is the policy of the Wheat Research Committee not to release new locally-bred wheats for growing in New Zealand unless their baking and milling qualities are not less than those of the standard variety, Aotea, Mr J. K. Ireland, a millers’ representative, expressed concern at a meeting of the committee yesterday about the possible introduction of low-quality wheats from overseas. Mr Ireland said that Gamenya, an Australian variety, had a retrograde effect on baking score and on the crop in general. To allow low-quality wheats to come in, he said, represented a grave risk to wheat quality as a whole. The director of the Wheat Research Institute (Mr W. R. Cawley) said that some years ago concern had been felt about the introduction of varieties from Australia without adequate testing—up to that stage there had been no control over introductions—but a sub-committee of the Wheat

Research Committee had then been set up. The policy of the committee, he said afterwards, was to approve imports of proven varieties in quantity where insufficient seed was available. Where varieties were still being evaluated and someone wished to import them the import of small quantities had been approved. Gamenya, he told the committee, had been brought in legitimately and filled a need in the North Island, but it had spread to the South Island. However, he hoped that now there were adequate quantities of Raven available, farmers would grow this variety, which had a favourable milling quality, as a spring wheat.

Mr Cawley told Mr Ireland that, as chairman of the subcommittee, he would note his remarks, and the chairman of the committee (Professor J. Packer) said that Mr Cawley could report back to the committee any recommendations that might be necessary.