GROWERS of gairdner barley are encouraged to consider buying a fresh supply of certified seed for sowing this year after reports of contamination in some Wimmera and Mallee crops.
Grains industry specialist Mary Raynes said variety contamination, which was found in some gairdner crops inspected by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries last spring, could result in discounts if the varietal purity contamination exceeded 5 per cent.
"Some growers are concerned a proportion of their crops are appearing different from the original plant characteristic of gairdner," Ms Raynes said.
"There were reports of schooner plants emerging in gairdner crops, two years after the schooner was sown."
Ms Raynes said six-row barley heads have also been found in one gairdner crop, which should only have two rows.
"This is despite the fact that there are generally no current commercial Australian barley varieties with the six-row characteristic." she said.
"An inspection of some 40 Wimmera and Mallee gairdner crops last spring revealed some contamination - with wheat, wild oats and other barleys - in 10 per cent of paddocks."
Ms Raynes said barley delivered to receival sites must be 95 per cent true to variety type.
GrainCorp quality services manager John Stuart said growers should not consign barley for malt-quality sales if varietal impurity falls below 95 per cent.
"Malting-barley growers with seed varietal impurity wanting to sell grain into malt markets should instead target feed markets and renew seed for next season's sowings with certified seed," Mr Stuart said.
PlantTech holds the rights to gairdner and has a good supply of certified seed for the coming season.
PlantTech employs a Seed Integrity Preservation scheme, the only government-audited quality assurance seed scheme in Australia.
Under this program, crops are inspected and independently audited to ensure variety integrity.
Ms Raynes urged growers to place their orders for seed with their merchandise suppliers.
