Canaryseed industry development for south-eastern Australia. A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation by R.M. Norton and J.F. Ford January 2002 RIRDC Publication No 01/178 RIRDC Project No UM-42A © 2001 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved. ISBN 0 642 58397 8 ISSN 1440-6845 Canaryseed – industry development for south-eastern Australia Publication No. 01/178 Project No.UM-42A The views expressed and the conclusions reached in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of persons consulted. RIRDC shall not be responsible in any way whatsoever to any person who relies in whole or in part on the contents of this report. This publication is copyright. However, RIRDC encourages wide dissemination of its research, providing the Corporation is clearly acknowledged. For any other enquiries concerning reproduction, contact the Publications Manager on phone 02 6272 3186. Researcher Contact Details Dr Robert M. Norton The University of Melbourrne RMB 3000 Horsham VIC 3401 Phone: 03 5362 2207 Fax: 03 5362 2213 Email: [email protected] RIRDC Contact Details Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 1, AMA House 42 Macquarie Street BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604 Phone: 02 6272 4539 Fax: 02 6272 5877 Email: [email protected]. Website: http://www.rirdc.gov.au Published in January 2002 Printed on environmentally friendly paper by Canprint ii Foreword Farmers in the 400 to 500 mm rainfall zone are continually searching for profitable new crops to include in rotations. An example of their willingness to adopt new crops is the increase in lentil area sown, which is now almost 130,000 ha across the Victorian and South Australian cropping regions. The success of the adoption of new crops, with the development of new industries to process, market and export these crops, is contingent on grower confidence in the production and marketing systems that supports the crop. This research evaluates another crop option for farmers in the region. Most significantly, it links research, market development and information sharing using the model of industry development proven with the development of the lentil industry. Canaryseed (Phalaris canariensis) is a minor crop in Australia, with production of around 10,000 t annually. The seed is sold into the international birdseed trade and prices tend to fluctuate in response to supply. Even though the market is highly discriminating, there are no quality criteria published, nor are guidelines available for growers to assist them meet market demands. While the crop is quite well adapted, there has been no systematic investigation into its management, integrating production protocols with market signals on product quality. More reliable production systems will provide growers with confidence in the crop, which inturn gives marketers security of supply of a quality product, enabling market development to occur with confidence. This project was developed to thoroughly investigate the potential for establishing a canaryseed industry in southeastern Australia. It has adopted an integrated supply chain approach to the development of the industry with key partners providing input on variety development, crop agronomy, quality standards, marketing and grower liaison. The objective of the project is to provide farmers in southeastern Australia with a management and marketing package for canaryseed. This package includes aspects of sowing times, crop protection, variety performance, harvesting and marketing information on the crop. This project was funded from RIRDC Core Funds, which are provided by the Federal Government. The industry partners in the project were The Lentil Company and The University of Melbourne. This report, a new addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 700 research publications, forms part of our New Plant Products R&D program, which aims to facilitate the development of new industries based on plants or plant products that have commercial potential for Australia. Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website: • downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm • purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop Peter Core Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation iii Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the support and interest of The Lentil Company, and in particular the directors and staff of that organisation. The foresight of Peter Blair and Wayne Beddison in taking up the marketing challenge of this crop is another example of how rural businesses can capitalise on local expertise and keep the benefits in local communities, which then flow through to that state and national economies. This report has also had significant contributions from Peter Semmler, Janine Carter and Rob Launder, all of The Lentil Company. John Ford has used this research project as the basis of his Masters in Agricultural Science course, through The University of Melbourne, Department of Crop Production. The Department provided support and resources to John over the duration of his candidature. John has been supervised by Dr Rob Norton, and he has also drawn extensively on the expertise of Dr Ray Flood (Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment) and Dr Susan Knights (The University of Melbourne), both of whom acted as co-supervisors. The authors would also like to thank Dr Knights for her comments and expert opinion in chapter four of this publication. The work would not have been possible without the assistance of skilled and knowledgeable technical staff, in particular Mr Peter Howie and Mr Brett Allender, both from The University of Melbourne, Longerenong College. Longerenong farm manager, Mark Jasper made field sites available, while Trudy McCann (The Lentil Company) also provided field sites at Dooen. Mr Steve Holden (DNRE Hamilton) and Mr Darren Scott (Heinrich Merchandise) provided assistance with the selection of the field sites. Mr Rob Christie (Pivot Limited, Horsham) assisted with the sowing of the fertilizer experiment at Dooen. Mr Cam Ellifson (Drung South) made available the field site at Drung South. The Victorian Institute for Dryland Agriculture, through the Joint Centre for Crop Improvement, made available resources to support the phenology studies. iv Contents Foreword ....................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................iv Executive Summary ..................................................................................................vii Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1. Canaryseed background...................................................................................... 3 2. Markets and potential markets............................................................................. 7 3. Variety evaluation .............................................................................................. 14 4. Phenology.......................................................................................................... 22 5. Agronomic studies on canaryseed..................................................................... 29 6. Industry Development........................................................................................ 44 7. References: ....................................................................................................... 49 8. Appendices........................................................................................................ 51 Appendix 1. Canaryseed quality standards .....................................................51 Appendix 2: Publications from the research....................................................55 Appendix 3: Draft Only...................................................................................71 List of Figures Figure 1.1: Seed characteristics of two canaryseed lines ..................................................... 5 Figure 1.2: Canaryseed grown in experimental plots in 2000 at Horsham ........................... 6 Figure 2.1: Canaryseed production, Canada, 1985 to 2000. ................................................ 8 Figure 3.1: Yield (kg/ha) for eight canaryseed genotypes................................................... 20 Figure 4.1: Response to extended photoperiod by canaryseed.......................................... 23 Figure 4.2: Response to extended photoperiod by wheat controls ..................................... 23 Figure 4.3: Average response to vernalisation for each canaryseed accession plotted against TOS................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 4.4: The effect of different vernalisation durations on the time to flower of CDC- Maria when grown under 18 hour photoperiod. DDTA -.degree days to anthesis........ 24 Figure 4.5: The effect of different vernalisation durations on the time to flower of Moroccan when grown under 18 hour photoperiod. DDTA -.degree days to anthesis.................. 24 Figure 4.6: The effect of different vernalisation durations on the time to flower of canaryseed accession PI 170 633 when grown under 18 hour photoperiod. ................ 25 Figure 4.7: The effect