The programme on Graeme Gardyne's property has achieved a milestone with the release of the first new milling oat cultivar, dubbed Southern Gold L5, in New Zealand for almost 20 years.
Plant Research New Zealand Ltd managing director Adrian Russell has been actively involved in the programme. The company is based at Lincoln University, Christchurch.
Mr Russell said evaluations had been conducted during the past seven to eight years by the Oat Improvement Group, which was a collaboration between research provider Plant Research New Zealand Ltd, which selected oats for their genetic traits, Southland Oat Growers and Harraways, Dunedin.
Trials were undertaken annually on a 1ha area on Mr Gardyne's Chatton farm, in which up to 3000 potential cultivars were assessed to find one with genetic traits suitable for commercial production.
''Ninety-nine percent of what we do each year is discarded at some point. We are looking for that one [cultivar], that needle in a haystack. It's a bit of a numbers game, but it's the only way you can do it,'' Mr Russell said.
''When you develop a variety, the whole process can take up to 10 years.''
Oats were assessed on traits that growers were looking for, such as higher yields and better disease resistance, while Harraways wanted high-quality oats for processing into food products.
Mr Russell said the trials were ''quite unique'' because of the collaborative approach, which included growers as well as processors.
Having a new cultivar released was good for the oat industry in Southland and would contribute to its growth.
''It is a milestone in the programme because it's the first release since the programme started over a seven to eight-year period.''
Southern Gold L5 was a plump oat with a large groat [kernel].
''These ones arguably have the largest groat of any variety that we have seen anywhere from the world. We've got varieties from Europe, the United States and Australia and nothing compares to this.''
While Southern Gold L5 oats had a small yield advantage over existing varieties, their main advantage was their quality.
The potential of growing oats in Southland for oat-milk production was also an exciting possibility that could lift the whole industry if ''they can get it off the ground'', Mr Russell said.
Mr Gardyne said 50 tonnes of Southern Gold L5 oats were available for sowing this year in Southland and Otago.
While some had been sown during autumn, three-quarters would be spring-sown, he said.
Southern Gold L5 was the first new oat cultivar produced for milling since the Armstrong oat was bred by Keith Armstrong, of Gore, in the 1990s and was a significant development for oat growers, he said.
Oat varieties were pollinated and crossbred at Lincoln, but evaluated on Mr Gardyne's property.
While the yield of Southern Gold L5 was expected to be about 3% to 5% above Armstrong oats, the ''bottom line'' for Harraways was its quality and the ability to maximise the utilisation of the grain with minimum waste, Mr Gardyne said.
However, Armstrong was still a very good oat, he said. Historically, an average oat yield of 6.5 tonnes to 7 tonnes per hectare, and 7 tonnes or better in a good growing season, could generally be expected.
Southern Gold L5 produced 8.5 tonnes per hectare last season. However, it was a particularly good growing season, he said.
Harraways chief executive Stuart Hammer said while he was ''positively optimistic'' about the new cultivar, there was still more research and evaluation to be done.
''It is still at the very early stage,'' Mr Hammer said.
However, results of evaluations appeared to be ''significant and quite exciting''.
He hoped Southern Gold L5 would produce a more consistent grain size, which could provide milling benefits compared to present cultivars, but its primary benefit at this stage was potentially higher yields for growers.
''I would like to say Adrian Russell and Plant Research have done an excellent job,'' he said.
He also acknowledged the work Mr Gardyne and other growers had done in developing the new cultivar.
- Russell Fredric.