Mr Shah Nawaz1, Dr Drew Portman2, Dr Edward Mwando1, Mr Nick Hartley1, Mr Peter Shotton1, Ms Staci Stanley1
1Plant Industries Group, Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade; Northern Territory Government, NT 0828, Australia, 2Institute of Future Farming Systems, Central Queensland University, CQIRP, 630 Ibis Avenue, Kawana, 4701, Australia
Biography:
Drew Portman completed his PhD at Agriculture Victoria in Horsham, where he worked on red lentil, as a food additive in wheat-based products. Drew also has a background in wheat quality assessment, serving as the laboratory manager Seed Phenomics and Quality at Agriculture Victoria for three years. Wanting to engage more with growers through his research, Drew obtained a position with Global Plant Genetics, where he was responsible for the management of field trials for tolerance trials in wheat, barley, lentil, and pea. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Central Queensland University, researching peanuts as a dual-purpose crop.
Abstract:
Dual-purpose peanut crop was ideally placed to help expand high value cropping in the Northern Australia, and at the same time help to address the significant feed demands of the Australian beef industry. This research investigates the potential of four newly developed peanut varieties (Tabbinga, Alloway, Holt and Kairi) within tropical farming systems for in-season biomass cutting and the trade-offs with kernel yield. Field trials were conducted at Katherine Research Station, Northern Territory for 2 years (2022 and 2023 seasons) to evaluate genotype and in-season biomass removal on yield of hay and kernels. The results indicated that harvesting in-season peanut biomass at 70 % canopy cover could significantly improve the quantity of biomass and its nutritional value as a feed source for livestock. Peanut crops can produce as high as 1.5 – 2.5 t ha-1 of in-season dry matter. It was noted that any penalty that in-season biomass harvest has on kernel yield (t ha-1) is likely to be associated with moisture and temperature stress preceding harvest. This research shows the potential of peanuts as a dual-purpose crop; and the limitations that can inhibit the development of dual-purpose peanut production in Northern Australia.