New rust-resistant oat lines from North America will be introduced to Australia during the next few years to strengthen the Queensland forage oats breeding program.

Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries oat breeder, Bruce Winter, said he would soon start introducing a range of new breeding lines he had selected during a recent trip to the United States and Canada.

Mr Winter said Queensland and New South Wales graziers would benefit from the introduction of this germplasm through the release of new, leaf rust resistant varieties.

Mr Winter visited the key oat breeding programs in the US and Canada, looking for new sources of resistance to leaf rust, the major disease of forage oats in sub-tropical Australia.

“Leaf rust is a very aggressive disease and can cause significant yield loss in wetter seasons,” he said. 

“The disease has readily overcome the single resistance genes present in many older varieties.

“Leaf rust is very topical among North American researchers since several new races recently emerged and overcame the resistance in some popular varieties,” Mr Winter said.

He said the Queensland breeding program was constantly looking for new sources of resistance to this disease, and he identified a range of promising lines during this trip.

“These lines will be imported into Australia, evaluated under local conditions, and used for breeding of new varieties,” he said.

Mr Winter said although grain and forage oats were minor crops in Australia, the oat industry in North America was much larger, and much greater resources were invested in developing of new varieties.

He said a highlight of the trip was a visit with Dr James Chong in Winnipeg, Canada. 

Dr Chong had spent over 30 years looking for new sources of leaf rust resistance in the wild relatives of oat. New genes released from his program had been used in oat varieties all over the world.

“Forage oats are critically important to the grazing industries in Queensland and NSW,” Mr Winter said. 

“They are the main feed source for many farming operations during winter. Farmers often rely on forage oats for finishing livestock during this period.”

Mr Winter and research technician Richard Uebergang manage the forage oat breeding program at the Leslie Research Centre, Toowoomba.

“The project aims is to release commercial varieties with durable resistance to leaf rust and high forage yield, combined with good early vigour and late maturity.

“The breeding program receives funding support from Meat and Livestock Australia and Heritage Seeds, and all varieties released by the program are marketed by Heritage Seeds,” Mr Winter said.