Otane—top bake scores tempt autumn sowers

Press, 15 May 1987, Page 12

Otane—top bake scores tempt autumn sowers

Otane, the new D.S.I.Rbred wheat grown widely last season for the first time, has proved to be the highest quality cultivar according to Wheat Research Institute tests. Otane averaged an M.D.D. bakescore of 27.8 against Oroua 23.5 and Rongotea 18.4.

Most farmers have been very pleased with the performance of spring-sown Otane and there are reports of some who are intending to sow it this autumn.

However, the risk with autumn-sowing of Otane concerns the breeders and their licensee, Elders Pastoral, who warn that problems may arise from autumn sowings. Elders held seed until July last year and this ensured that the seed was not sown too early. However with seed being more readily available

this year the same degree of control cannot be obtained.

The Crop Research Division director, Dr Michael Dunbier, said the Otane is very early flowering which means that returns from autumnsowing are unreliable, because of the increased risk of frost at flowering.

“Otane flowers about 11 days earlier than average and has been recorded as being 17 days earlier than Oroua. This means from May to June sowings Otane would be flowering in late October when the risk of a damaging frost is one year in two, or early November when the risk is one year in four. In addition there would be a risk of bird damage in some situations,” said Mr Dunbier.

“Experimentally a two degree frost for two hours has been shown to cause a 92 per cent loss in yield

so we wish to warn farmers of this fact because of the obvious financial loss it could cause,” said Dr Dunbier. With risk of frost damage ’ being . particularly high for autumn sown Otane, it is probable that insurance assessors would not look favourably on any claims arising from losses in early sown Otane.

Dr Martin McEwan the breeder of Otane, recommends that if farmers wish to get the possible returns from Otane both in terms of relative yield and quality, the crop should not be sown before August in Canterbury and before September in Southland and the North Island.

“Although the flowering date is much earlier, the grain-fill period is much longer than Oroua resulting in similar maturity dates,” he said.