More than two decades of trials have provided the tools needed to compare commercial varieties using independent and locally relevant performance information

Confidence in National Variety Trials’ (NVT) data has shaved two to three years from variety adoption rates while boosting the area planted to new varieties.

When the NVT was established 20 years ago, the aim was clear – to provide a trusted source of independent variety performance data and accelerate the adoption of superior varieties from breeding programs.

At the time, it took an estimated average of 10 years for a new variety to reach peak adoption rates.

As NVT celebrates its 20th anniversary, NVT systems manager Neale Sutton reflects on this aim: “Not only has variety adoption occurred earlier, but also growers are planting more area to new varieties,” Mr Sutton says.

“That could be, for example, planting 100 hectares of a new variety, compared to 20ha. It is because NVT has given the industry the tools and the confidence to adopt new varieties sooner.

NVT produces reliable, comparable and honest data and it would be hard to find this information without it.

The NVT’s purpose has remained true to its original aim; however, the program now provides not only comparative information on yield performance but also on grain quality and disease resistance for commercially available grain varieties.

The vast variety of data collected in the NVT system also makes it a treasure trove for researchers. Being able to access that information is helping researchers explore topics from herbicide loss to climatic changes while building industry capacity in the biometric space.

Beginnings

The idea for independent, coordinated variety trials came about as more public, state-funded and state-focused breeding programs shifted to private models.

“There was a general shift from public to private breeding,” Mr Sutton recalls. “The end point royalty (EPR) system was in place and with that came a revenue stream for commercial breeders.” This also drove an increase in the number of commercial breeders operating in Australia.

Mr Sutton says the shift from single, state-funded breeding programs to competing commercial breeding organisations created a need for independent variety evaluation. “It was important to have robust standardised data made available nationally. Different breeders presented results in different ways and NVT created a standard independent approach that growers could trust.”

Trial evolution

Over time, trials have grown with new crops, areas and treatments.

Sorghum, grown in the northern region, was added to the NVT in 2018. Much further south there are now barley and wheat trials in Tasmania, which had its first NVT site in 2012.

Alternate trial treatments are needed as new technologies are released, such as imidazolinone-tolerant (IMI-tolerant) lentils.

“As the adoption of herbicide-tolerant lentils increased, the NVT program incorporated IMI-tolerant lentil trials into the program reflecting grower practice,” Mr Sutton says.

“It is the same story with canola. Some newer varieties have a stack of tolerances. These newer technologies allow for later sprays and NVT will treat them like that too.”

NVT management practices are guided by the NVT Advisory Committees. “We rely heavily on them,” Mr Sutton says.

Established in 2013, these committees consist of growers and advisers and help inform protocol development.

NVT online. Photo: GRDC

Systems management

NVT has grown to become the largest independent coordinated trial network in the world. More than 650 trials are sown at 300+ locations for 10 crop species across Australia each year and the NVT database includes more than 1.5 million plot points.

It requires a vast array of systems to store and communicate trial data, results and pathology information for cultivar disease resistance ratings. “Over the past 20 years, these systems have had to evolve and grow,” Mr Sutton says.

Today, with NVT online, growers and agronomists from across the country can access the latest information easily.

Additionally, systems for other stakeholders have been developed. “These systems are used by service providers, breeders and NVT staff to manage operations for every facet of the NVT program.”

Creating a sustainable model

Access to the program has evolved with the Pre-commercial Purchasing and NVT Resource Sharing models, both aimed at improving impact grains industry impact.

The Pre-commercial Purchasing model removes constraints on the number of pre-commercial entries available to breeders. It also allows international breeders to enter the program for the first time, promoting better global access to future varieties.

Mr Sutton says that essentially, the model acts like an entry fee. “Breeders pay an upfront fee to be in the NVT when their line is pre-commercial. We refund the money when the line is commercialised. So, it means that growers (via GRDC) essentially fund testing of all varieties where growers get access to the NVT results.”

Minor crops, such as pulses, oats and durum, are supported via the Minor Crop Allocation, which allows all crops and smaller breeders to access NVT.

Via the NVT Resource Sharing model, grains industry researchers now have access and a licence to use the NVT to support their research.

This has increased the program’s value to the grains industry by providing other research projects with access to NVT resources, including data, trials and harvested grain. As a result, it has become an enabling platform for a wide range of research that benefits the Australian grains industry.

Read or ‘hear’ all about it

Getting this information out to growers and agronomists is a top priority.

Information is made available via the website, in printed publications, and now in podcasts too.

As the NVT moves ahead, its goal remains the same – to help growers optimise system profitability through appropriate variety choices based on reliable, independent data.

NVT History timeline

The NVT’s purpose has remained true to its original aim: provide Australian grain growers and advisers with access to independent, locally relevant performance information on commercially available varieties, to accelerate the adoption of superior varieties and help growers avoid unsuitable varieties.

• GRDC established NVT in 2005. It is the largest independent coordinated trial network in the world.
• NVT brought multiple state-focused variety trial programs together into a single entity that has evolved into a world-leading variety evaluation program.
• Today, NVT conducts over 650 trials annually, involving 30 different breeding programs from around the world.
• Establishing an independent service in parallel with the shift from public to private breeding was essential to maintain confidence in variety claims.

View the 20 years of NVT timeline on the NVT website.