UNDERSTANDING TRENDS IN FALLING NUMBERS IN THE MEDIUM TO HIGH RAINFALL ZONES OF WA

SUMMARY

The falling numbers test conducted on wheat assists in identifying its quality for bread-making. Low falling numbers result in down grading of wheat at receival. This is a critical issue for all growers in WA with varieties exhibiting different propensities for low falling numbers.

Research undertaken by DPIRD researchers has raised not just varietal susceptibility, but also time of sowing and the timing of rainfall as having an impact on falling numbers at harvest. In addition, Grower Network members are skeptical of the ratings given by seed companies and feel the work conducted by DPIRD researchers to date is more encompassing and therefore, accurate.

2021 is the perfect year to collect more data to assist this research in the medium to high rainfall zones of WA. There were multiple days of rain over harvest as well as a wide spread of time of sowing (TOS) dates due to early seeding opportunities across much of the grain growing region.

By June 2022, data collected will assist growers in the medium to high rainfall zones of WA to have a better understanding of how environmental, agronomic and varietal aspects impact falling number test results at harvest, and will also inform future research.