GROWERS in the Merredin area will be given the chance to see new hay oat varieties in their local environment, as part of a trial being run by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
The trial, at the DPIRD research station near Merredin, was sown on May 27 and includes a total of 12 varieties - nine oat and three awnless wheat.
It is part of the broader National Hay Agronomy (NHA) project supported by AgriFutures Australia.
The project has research underway across Australia to support export hay growers, working with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the Department of Primary Industries New South Wales, AgVic and the Birchip Cropping Group.
DPIRD research scientist Georgie Troup is leading the project and said growers will be keen to see the varieties she had been speaking about for the past couple of years, but have yet to see in any trials in their area.
"The same way that the National Variety Trials provides an opportunity for growers to see new grain varieties, this provides that opportunity for hay growers," Ms Troup said.
"In particular, there is Koorabup, which was recently released by the National Oat Breeding Program (SARDI) and Kingbale, which is an imidazolinone tolerant variety - recently released by InterGrain.
"Kingbale is not yet commercially available, it's expected to be available for growers for planting in 2021, pending a chemical registration and we've also included the old variety Swan, which is still grown in the lower rainfall areas."
The trial itself is a small plot style, with plots roughly 10 metres long and 2m wide, with selected plots being sprayed with gibberellic acid (GA), as part of the NHA investigation into the role of plant growth regulators in export fodder production.
Ms Troup said it was important to evaluate if GA might be an option for the lower rainfall area.
"We have very little knowledge about the use of GA in oat crops," she said.
"Plants naturally produce GA, it boosts biomass production and it's used on perennial pastures and horticulture crops to stimulate biomass production and flowering, but the knowledge of what GA does to annual cereal crops is scarce."
As the trial consists of small plots, it's not possible to get a commercial baler in to evaluate the hay yield and qualities.
Instead the research team will take hand cuts at the same growth stage that a grower would be cutting their hay and dry it down in the ovens at DPIRD.
"From there we will evaluate its stem thickness and leaf chlorophyll," Ms Troup said.
"We then grind it down, which is the same process that happens at the export processor and we put it through the near infrared spectral camera and get a complete suite of quality attributes.
"So the same quality attributes are measured in the same way that an exporter would evaluate them at the processing plant."
The trial is just out of the ground and plant counts have been completed, with the team waiting for the crop to develop as it progresses through the growing season.
Come spring, the research team will be showing growers through the trials site so they can see the varieties' performance first hand, prior to cutting.
