Biotech Updates

PBA to Launch High Yielding Peas in Western Australia

September 9, 2010

Pulse Breeding Australia (PBA) will commercially release two higher yielding Kaspa-type field pea varieties on 14 September 2010. These new varieties are suited for areas with lower rainfall. According to Brondwen MacLean, Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) pulse and oilseeds manager, PBA Twilight and PBA Gunyah would provide field pea growers the opportunity to manage and optimize their production.

"PBA Twilight and PBA Gunyah will provide the same agronomic benefits of the variety Kaspa in relation to lodging and pod shatter resistance at harvest," she said. "But the new varieties are much earlier flowering, have significantly higher grain yield and will be more reliable in low to medium rainfall environments.

These two new varieties were bred by Tony Leonforte, leader of the PBA field pea program based in Horsham. The seeds of these varieties will be distributed by AWB Seeds starting 2011.

For more information regarding the varieties of PBA, http://www.grdc.com.au/director/events/grdcpublications/pba?shortcut=1.