MORE financial support for triticale breeding is needed to diversify the gene pool and stay ahead of ever-evolving pests and diseases, according to SA seed grower Kath Cooper, who recently attended the 9th International Triticale Symposium in Szeged, Hungary.
Dr Cooper said triticale was known for its strong resistance to diseases and pests, including the Russian wheat aphid, across the first 40 years of its cultivation.
“Yet Australia does not have a single industry-funded triticale improvement program,” she said. “It’s really important triticale breeding, research and promotion continues, to keep it available as a crop option for Australian farmers and industries into the future.”
Dr Cooper gave an update on Australian triticale use at the symposium, which included her experiences as a seedgrower at Sherlock, plus data from University of Sydney researcher Angela Pattinson, who has been testing modern triticale varieties for milling and baking quality attributes.
Frequent references were made about the stress tolerance of triticale, particularly during drought, at the symposium, she said.
“While photosynthetic processes in wheat were compromised in drought experiments, they continued normally in triticale, and the canopy of triticale remained cooler than that of wheat in hot, dry conditions,” she said.
“The longer duration of ear initiation and grain filling in triticale contributed to triticale having a higher grain yield potential and harvest index than wheat varieties.”
Other Australian delegates at the symposium were CSIRO’s Tony Condon, Canberra, who is studying triticale’s advantageous characteristics in a quest to improve wheat productivity, while Paul Bowater, from Plant Research NZ talked about new forage variety Winter Max, which derives from Australian-released variety Yukuri.
Dr Cooper said Winter Max had high winter feed production and nitrogen uptake efficiency, plus strong resistance to stripe rust.
“It is hoped an exchange of materials between the University of Sydney and Plant Research NZ may be organised to improve the diversity of triticale in our region,” she said.
The conference also recognised the 100 years since the birth of Hungarian Arpad Kiss, who released the first triticale variety in 1968, as well as cutting-edge triticale breeding technologies used in Canada.
Dr Cooper donated five triticale varieties from her Mallee farm – Rufus, Tuckerbox, Yowie, Goanna and KM10 – to appear in the symposium’s demo nursery.
“The Hungarians and Polish were keen to test these varieties, and use them to diversify their own spring triticale breeding programs,” she said. “We would like to know how these varieties fare against the new stripe rust and mildew pathotypes afflicting Europe.”
