New Wheat To Be Grown

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32350, 16 July 1970, Page 11

New Wheat To Be Grown

The new wheat variety —lo2o,ol—will be grown on some farms this year under very strict control.

Mr J. A. D. Nash, representative of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, told a meeting of the Wheat Research Committee this week that his department did not regard this as being a release of the variety. The amount of grain available was being increased and the wheat would not be released without the authority of the committee.

Farmers who are growing the wheat are being required to sign an agreement with the Department of Agriculture as to its disposal. Dr H. C. Smith, director of the Crop Research Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, said that Federated Farmers had assisted in the selection of farmers for this purpose. Dr Smith said that the further increase of the new variety under the full control of his department and the Department of Agriculture had been arranged at the request of the Director-General of Agriculture (Dr W. M. Hamilton) after a request from United Wheatgrowers, who wished to ensure that large-scale trials and milling tests could be carried out. The general manager of the Wheat Board (Mr L. C. Dunshea) said that the board had agreed to purchase the production where it was not required for trial or seed purposes. A motion moved by a grower-member of the committee, Mr F. J. Henshaw, that a decision about the release of the new variety be held over until after the results of the next harvest had been received, lapsed for want, of a seconder.

Another grower-representa-tive, Sir Walter Mulholland, said that as there was too much room for error on the basis of present information about the wheat, there was no point in making a decision about Its release at this stage. It was his experience with new introductions that it was only when they were grown under commercial or nearcommercial conditions that an accurate assessment could be made of how they performed. From an apparent rumour that the committee had determined that the new variety should not be released, Sir Walter Mulholland said that the agriculture section of Federated Farmers had called for the abolition of the committee and a very hostile feeling had been created among farmers to the committee; but up to this stage, the committee had not made any recommendation about the variety. In reporting that 120,01 had a yield and baking-score advantage over Aotea, Dr P. Meredith, acting director of the Wheat Research Insti-

tute, said that it was, however, a poor milling wheat—it was not so bad in this res-

pect as Arawa but was well on the way. Arawa, he said, was introduced for its yield and was wanted at the time, which had been suffiicient to outweigh its disadvantages. Were the other attributes of 1020,01, he asked, sufficient to outweigh its milling quality? There was danger in the repercussions which a decision could have on bread quality as a whole. A higheryielding wheat could depress the amount of high-quality Hilgendorf grown, and the introduction of 1020,01 over a few years could mean the almost complete loss of Hilgendorf. Dr Meredith noted that the new variety could not be reliably distinguished visually from Hilgendorf, but Dr Smith suggested that it would be useful if millers and the Wheat Research Institute could examine the differences in the two varieties. Mr G. M. Wright, a plant breeder at the Crop Research Division, said that in its experience, Hilgendorf and 1020,01 could be as easily distinguished as Aotea and Arawa.

Mr Wright said that two varieties could come from reselections of 1020,01 there could be a feed wheat and also a good all-round commercial milling variety.

Final Right After discussions between a sub-committee of the Wheat Research Committee and the Director-General of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research about the responsibilities of the committee in deciding on the release of new varieties, Mr Nash—in quoting from notes approved by Dr Hamiltonsaid it was considered that the committee retained the final right to decide whether a new wheat should be released.

However, Mr Nash said that the agriculture section of Federated Farmers had asked to see both the Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Science on this subject. References made to the previous meeting of the committee when a move was made to censure Dr Smith for allegedly appropriating from the committee the right to release new wheat varieties.

Dr Smith said at one stage yesterday that he felt very strongly about the motion, and that he had hot received an adequate opportunity to defend himself against what he considered was a personal attack.

When the chairman (Mr W. McCutcheon) said that he had had an opportunity, Dr Smith said that this had been while the meeting was in committee.

Unless the motion was withdrawn, he might not be in a position to discuss a report he had brought to the last meeting, but which had then not been received. Mr McCutcheon said that quite apart from the recommendations, he felt that some members of the committee had taken exception to being presented with a fait accompli.