A NEW niche lupin variety will be available to WA growers for the 2018 season, after it was launched at the Mingenew Irwin Group Field Day last week.
PBA Leeman is a high protein, narrow leaf lupin with superior tolerance to metribuzin – a herbicide used to combat weeds such as wild radish, capeweed and doublegee – and high pest and disease resistance.
The WA variety was developed by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) through the Pulse Breeding Australia (PBA) lupin breeding program, supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
DPIRD senior plant breeder Jonathan Clements said PBA Leeman was an early maturing, early flowering, sweet lupin variety that produced competitive yields and was comparable to 2006 variety Coromup.
“This variety was a 2003 cross between a line that had a high protein, wild spanish parent and the pollen parent was Coromup,” Mr Clements said.
“The variety has a protein value of about 35.4 per cent, which is on average 0.6pc higher than Coromup.
“Growers might give it a go either as a replacement for Coromup or as a complimentary variety to Coromup.”
With a high tolerance to metribuzin, Mr Clements said growers with weed management issues would find PBA Leeman a desirable variety.
“Metribuzin is a common herbicide in WA that growers use to target broadleaf weeds and PBA Leeman has got the highest tolerance of all of the lupin varieties,” he said.
“The variety also has good resistance to the fungal diseases phomopsis, anthracnose, grey spot and aphids, with moderate levels of susceptibility to viruses.”
Mr Clements said the variety could be grown by farmers in most areas of the State.
He said it was suitable for growers targeting high protein feed and aquaculture niche markets.
“We’re saying it’s niche because currently people who do a higher protein lupin are a smaller group, but they’ll be targeting specific markets such as high value feed markets and that would include aquaculture, there may be some applications for it in some food as well,” he said.
“Those growers that are looking to grow it, they’ll be looking to market it through specific exporters.
“The northern agricultural region is an area where we expect some growers will be interested, a lot of lupin growing is concentrated in that region.”
Seednet has been licensed to distribute the new variety, which is being bulked up for commercial availability prior to the 2018 season.
PBA Leeman is one of the final two lupin varieties bred by DPIRD, as part of the Pulse Breeding Australia’s national lupin breeding program.
The second variety will be launched in New South Wales within the next month.
Plant breeding company Australian Grain Technologies will continue to undertake commercial lupin breeding in WA through germplasm licensing arrangements established with DPIRD and GRDC in 2015.
