REVAMPING the soft wheat industry in Western Australia is the aim of a trial being run by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) at Corrigin and Katanning.
Details of the trial were explained to attendees at the Corrigin Farm Improvement Group's Spring Field Day earlier this month, with information also provided on the current market situation for soft wheat both domestically and internationally.
DPIRD research scientist Brenda Shackley said the project stemmed from work done by the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) which identified increasing demand for soft wheat - classified as Australian Soft (ASFT) at a maximum protein level of 9.5 per cent - from South East Asian and Chinese flour millers.
"These markets have expressed an interest in ASFT, however despite there being regions within WA that are well suited to the production of low protein wheat, there are no suitable soft wheat currently available," Ms Shackley said.
"Varieties with competitive yields will increase cropping options for graingrowers and with that in mind, wheat breeding companies have responded to the opportunity by commencing breeding programs targeting production in WA."
ASFT is a unique blend of white, soft-grained wheat varieties ideally suited to sweet products including cakes, biscuits or cookies, pastries and confectionery, plus it is also used for Asian steamed products.
Production of soft wheat in WA peaked in the 1990s at 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes for export, but by 2002 that had declined to 30,000t and in 2018 was only 2000t due the lack of competitive varieties and other marketing options for hard wheat.
In Australia, production of AFST does exist in the Eastern States, however it is purely to supply the domestic market, with the United States the only supplier of true soft wheat for export.
Asia accounts for 80pc of soft white (SW) exports at an average of 4.8 million metric tonnes over the past decade, with WA being uniquely positioned to tap into that market based on competitive freight rates.
Ms Shackley said the trials at Corrigin and Katanning involved 18 different varieties, roughly nine of which were soft wheat, with the others including key barley, hard wheat and noodle wheat varieties.
"It's about looking at the soft wheat varieties that wheat breeders have identified as the more elite in the field and comparing how they perform against barley varieties and noodle varieties," she said.
"After harvest, grain samples from each of the AFST varieties will be sent for analysis to AEGIC and other potential collaborators in order to check their suitability for the South East Asian soft wheat market.
"Some of the soft wheat varieties are also involved in a spin-off trial looking at varieties' performance when it comes to nitrogen rates and timing, in order to see whether we can go for the lower inputs with the soft wheat and still achieve good yields."
With the trial having only commenced at the beginning of this season and expected to carry on for another two to three years, no results have been noted yet, however the aim is that the soft wheat varieties yield as well as, if not better than, Scepter.
"Originally the soft wheat industry in WA was dominated by club heads, but it slowly moved to non-club heads before the industry phased out," Ms Shackley said.
"With that in mind, the breeders have a range of club head and non-club head varieties that they have provided, so it will be interesting to see the difference between them.
"However this is the first time I have looked at the AFST varieties, so I don't currently have any idea what their yield performance will be and whether they will be competitive or not."
All of these samples will be sent off over east to test whether they are suitable for the international markets.
