Variety identification

Press, 14 May 1982, Page 16

Variety identification

One hundred and twenty members of the seed and milling trade are today attending a one-day course at Lincoln College on the identification of wheat by grain sample. The ability to differentiate between varieties is a very necessary, though not easily acquired, talent. Crop Research Division, D.5.1.R., has been asked by the Wheat Board to run the course and to produce a book on wheat identification.

An essential part of any scheme to make quality payments for wheat is the accurate identification of the grain. This is because one of the biggest variations in wheat quality is between different cultivars. Farmers will be well aware of the extreme differences between say Karamu and Hilgendorf, but significant differences also exist between the newer wheats — Rongotea, Orona, Tiritea and Takebe. If two cultivars have the same protein level, they won't necessarily bake to the same quality, so neither protein level nor varietal identification can be used in isolation. Both are equally important in determining quality. “The Crop Research Division booklet will be available next week," said Mr Howard Bezar of D.S.I.R. “We have attempted in the booklet to cover all aspects of the identification of the ten cultivars currently in use. Colour plates of the head, glumes and grains of each cultivar are used to supplement the written descriptions,” he said. "So the booklet should appeal to a wide cross-sec-tion of people involved in the wheat industry.”

The booklet will be available from the secretary, Agronomy Society of New Zealand, c/o D.5.1.R., Private Bag, Christchurch, or at the Lincoln Farmers’ Conference, next week. Cost is $7.50, postage included.