CSIRO wheat breeder Dr Greg Rebetzke talks to Jessica Strauss about the research being conducted into developing a new high vigour wheat. What if we could have a wheat variety that could play the yield game and the competition game? What would that look like? Perhaps a dwarf wheat, with a long coleoptile, prostrate growth habit (like barley), early vigour, leaves like solar panels, and of course, high yield. Well, that’s exactly what Greg is attempting to develop as part of a GRDC-funded high vigour wheat project. High vigour kinds of wheat are not only good for competing with weeds; they also serve to shade the soil to reduce evaporation and ultimately increase water-use efficiency.To find out how this breeding program is progressing, and what difference high vigour wheat makes to ryegrass seed set, take a listen. You can also read more about this project in AHRI insight: http://ahri.uwa.edu.au/how-a-new-wheat-variety-could-compete-with-weeds-like-jonah-lamu-did-on-the-field/Music: www.bensound.com
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