MURDOCH University and the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food have jointly released a new French serradella cultivar designed to speed the flowering process and increase seed production for farmers in low rainfall areas.

Showcased by the Mingenew-Irwin Group at its annual Spring Field Day this week, the “Eliza” pasture legume cultivar is an offspring of the popular Cadiz released in 1996, offering farmers an earlier maturity and the prospect of greater seed yield, better seedling vigour and improved plant establishment.

The development of the new French Serradella cultivar could mean greater yields maturing earlier.

It is suited to areas receiving less than 400 millimetres annual rainfall and can be used for fodder, weed control, nitrogen fixation and brown manuring.

“The success of Cadiz has been dependant on good late-Spring rains in order to increase seed production but this is not always feasible in areas of low rainfall,” says Murdoch PhD student and DAFWA senior research officer Brad Nutt, who developed Cadiz and Eliza.

“Eliza is a selection from the Cadiz cultivar, which is less dependent on favourable Spring conditions and brings the period of flowering and seed production forward about 20 days.

“It takes about half the time to flower compared to most other French serradellas, which is considered to be a fairly decent breakthrough.”

Growers at the MIG Field Day were able to view a demonstration plot of the Eliza and Cadiz cultivars placed side-by-side to emphasise the difference in maturity.

With Cadiz being sown over more than 500,000 hectares in its peak years, Nutt is hoping Eliza will be an even greater success.

“Eliza was in development for eight years, and the general farming community has been enquiring about it for the last two years so we are confident that it will find its niche in the market,” he says.

Narrogin-based Ballard Seeds has been awarded the license to sell the Eliza cultivar on behalf of Murdoch and DAFWA.

The company is currently growing the crop at its Badgingarra fields and will have limited stock available in 2011, with full commercial availability by 2012.

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