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New mustard varieties: good oil for dry land
26 Sep 2003
New mustard genotypes bred to withstand hot, dry conditions could give grain growers in more marginal farming areas the break crop option they've been looking for. In 2005, new varieties of mustard with superior drought tolerance will be released. Currently, there's no oilseed crop well adapted to low rainfall regions where averages are between 225 and 350 mm a year.
While canola will probably remain the oilseed of choice for high-rainfall cropping areas, mustard can play an important role in cropping rotations in the drier areas.
Data show that in marginal areas and drought years in the more favoured areas, mustard outperforms canola. On a number of occasions there has been 50 per cent higher yield of mustard over canola, but often the oil content is one or two per cent lower. With a 50 per cent yield advantage the returns are much higher under marginal conditions.
A Victorian DPI oilseed manager and breeder said mustard doesn't shatter as readily as canola, is more tolerant of moisture and heat stress, and resistant to a range of diseases such as blackleg. The farmer doesn't have to windrow it as the seed head is shatter-tolerant, which saves $25 a hectare, he said. In the marginal areas $25/ha could be your profit.
The Land, 26/9/03.
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