Durum is a speciality wheat for the production of semolina to make pasta and similar products. It should only be grown on highly-fertile soils where high protein grain can be produced, as protein levels above 13% are required to meet premium market grades. Protein levels below 10% can only be marketed as feed.
Good yields, combined with premiums paid for durum wheat, give growers in prime hard areas a useful alternative to bread wheat production.
Varieties
Kamilaroi, Wollaroi, Yallaroi, EGA Bellaroi and Jandaroi are varieties released from the NSW DPI´s durum breeding program at Tamworth. They are all resistant to stem, leaf and stripe rusts, and have a useful to high level of yellow spot resistance and good levels of tolerance and resistance to the root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus thornei but are very susceptible to crown rot. They all have good resistance to lodging, particularly EGA Bellaroi.
Kamilaroi
A high-yielding, consistent protein achiever with good semolina colour. Kamilaroi has similar maturity to Hartog wheat in South Queensland, but Kamilaroi has similar maturity to Hartog wheat in South Queensland, but flowers about four days earlier in Central Queensland. Although it has reasonable tolerance to root lesion nematodes, yield losses may be expected on nematode-infested soils.
Wollaroi
Wollaroi has excellent semolina colour and good dough strength, and is the variety preferred by millers. Pasta made from Wollaroi has a superior bright, clear yellow appearance. In South Queensland, Wollaroi has maturity similar to Kamilaroi, however it is earlier maturing in Central Queensland, flowering about seven days earlier than Hartog. Of the durums, Wollaroi has the best resistance to black point. It is only moderately tolerant to root lesion nematodes and is not recommended for nematode infested soils.
Yallaroi
A high-yielding variety with good semolina colour and dough strength. Yallaroi has similar maturity to Kamilaroi in South Queensland. In Central Queensland, Yallaroi has maturity similar to Cunningham but can be slower than Cunningham when planted early. Initial trial work indicates that Yallaroi is not suited to the most northern areas of the Central Highlands. Yallaroi is very tolerant to root lesion nematodes and is the preferred variety for nematode infested soils.
EGA Bellaroi
Released and launched in October 2002. EGA Bellaroi has superior semolina and pasta quality with bright, clean, yellow appearance and no discoloration. It has a high level of resistance to stem rust, yellow leaf spot and flag smut with a moderate level of resistance to other common cereal diseases. EGA Bellaroi is moderately tolerant to root lesion nematodes. It has very good resistance to lodging. EGA Bellaroi has maturity similar to Sunvale. EGA Bellaroi should be sown as early as possible, due to its long maturity, particularly evident in Central Queensland. Seed of EGA Bellaroi is available from PlantTech or their agents. Seed and end-point royalties apply to EGA Bellaroi.
Jandaroi
Released and launched in February 2007. Jandaroi has superior semolina and pasta quality with bright, clean, yellow appearance and no discolouration. It has a high level of resistance to stem rust, leaf rust, stripe rust, yellow leaf spot and flag smut together with a moderate (more than adequate) level of resistance to the other cereal diseases, except crown rot to which it is susceptible. Jandaroi is very quick maturing and has grain yields equivalent to Kennedy in Central Queensland. Its lodging resistance is good. The grain protein is about equivalent to that achieved by Wollaroi, but not as high as that given by EGA Bellaroi. Seed of Jandaroi is available from AWB Seeds distributors. Seed and end-point royalties apply to Jandaroi. Jandaroi has been given an Australian Durum classification for export.
