成人大片

Durum Breeding Australia (DBA), a national durum breeding program delivered by New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and the 成人大片 in partnership with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), today announced that Australian Grain Technologies Pty Ltd (AGT) has been awarded the licence to take the durum breeding program forward.

GRDC, NSW DPI and the 成人大片 have co-invested in the DBA program since 2008, successfully delivering new durum varieties with improved yield and quality attributes for the Australian durum production areas.

In 2020, the DBA partners took the opportunity to leverage commercial breeding sector investment, technologies and capabilities in cereal breeding and sought proposals from the commercial breeding sector to licence the germplasm from the DBA program to continue durum breeding.

Australian breeding company, AGT, is already actively engaged in commercial durum breeding managing a program attached to its core cereal breeding activities.聽 The addition of the DBA germplasm into AGT鈥檚 breeding program demonstrates the increasing value of this crop to grain growers in both northern and southern regions.

鈥淭his next stage for durum breeding reflects years of hard work from durum growers, researchers, breeders, processors and marketers, each making an important contribution to the durum industry鈥�Cathie Warburton, GRDC

Cathie Warburton, Interim Managing Director, GRDC, said that the outcome was a testament to the strength of the DBA collaboration built over many years and the shared vision to successfully move the breeding program from a research and development environment to the commercial sector.

鈥淥ur strategy for durum breeding had centred around meeting grower needs without generating market failure.聽 For GRDC, it鈥檚 all about finding the right path to market and helping growers become more profitable,鈥� said Ms Warburton.

鈥淭his next stage for durum breeding reflects years of hard work from durum growers, researchers, breeders, processors and marketers, each making an important contribution to the durum industry.鈥�

Durum wheat was first produced in Australia in the 1930s with a small plant breeding program established at the NSW Agriculture Glen Innes Experiment Farm.聽 NSW DPI has been involved in the breeding since those early days.聽

鈥淣SW DPI's had involvement in聽durum聽breeding for NSW grain growers for 86 years, finishing up in mid-2021,鈥� said Dr Alison Bowman, NSW DPI Group Director Plant Systems. 鈥淭he NSW DPI Tamworth team, leading the northern node of Durum Breeding Australia, had an extremely successful track record in developing聽durum聽varieties for NSW and Australian聽durum聽growers聽releasing 15 varieties in that time. These varieties now account for more than 90% of the durum wheat grown in the northern grains region.

鈥淭he varieties had higher yields, but it is the outstanding grain quality of the DBA Tamworth lines (bright yellow semolina loved by pasta makers internationally) that established聽durum聽wheat for international export production from Australia,鈥� said Dr Bowman.

鈥淭he success of the NSW DPI breeding program in developing these varieties has seen the industry grow to the point that breeding can now be done on a commercial footing by a private plant breeding company using the elite germplasm developed by the NSW DPI team.鈥�

鈥淭he 成人大片 is proud of its long association with durum breeding and its enduring legacy, which can be found throughout the Australian durum industry today鈥�Professor Anton Middelberg, 成人大片

Professor Anton Middelberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), 成人大片 said the University鈥檚 focus on durum breeding over many years had made an important contribution to the industry鈥檚 viability.聽

鈥淭he 成人大片 is proud of its long association with durum breeding and its enduring legacy, which can be found throughout the Australian durum industry today,鈥� said Professor Middelberg.聽鈥淲ith our focus on pre-breeding research, studying the specific traits that are needed for tolerance and resilience to Australian growing conditions, the University鈥檚 strong connection with industry will continue.

聽鈥淲e will work closely with Australia鈥檚 leaders in durum 鈥� such as San Remo, AGT, and the Southern Australia Durum Growers Association 鈥� to ensure the very best outcomes for industry and for consumers nation-wide, applying world-class science to add further value to an industry that is聽critically important to Australian agriculture and the economy,鈥� said Professor Middelberg.

AGT Chief Executive Officer and Head of Breeding, Haydn Kuchel, said he was pleased that the company had been successful in securing the germplasm and looked forward to leveraging new opportunities for Australian durum grain growers.

鈥淏reeding advanced durum has been part of AGT鈥檚 story for 20 years and we have successfully developed several elite varieties for Australian conditions,鈥� said Mr Kuchel.

鈥淭aking on new germplasm from the DBA will allow us to keep delivering improved durum varieties beyond Bitalli and Westcourt, which have become the leading performers in the south and north respectively.鈥�

鈥淯sing cutting-edge breeding technologies to increase efficiency and genetic gain means we offer Australian durum growers the benefits of a globally competitive breeding company,鈥� said Mr Kuchel. 鈥淭he work we do to improve yields and resilience reflects our passion for seeing Australian rural communities and businesses thrive.

鈥淎GT is excited about continuing to work with durum growers and manufacturers to advance this high value crop鈥檚 impact and importance in Australian agriculture.鈥�