That’s lentil: new variety ready for release

LENTIL growers will have a new variety option in 2019 with the commercial release of PBA Hallmark XT, a new high yielding, herbicide-tolerant lentil.

Bred by Agriculture Victoria’s lentil breeding team, PBA Hallmark XT is a medium sized, red lentil that has many attractive attributes, not the least being its tolerance to some Group B herbicides and its ability to out-yield its predecessors, PBA Hurricane XT and PBA Herald XT.

Agriculture Victoria Research scientist, Dr Arun Shunmugam, said that PBA Hallmark XT was the result of 12 years of research undertaken by Agriculture Victoria’s lentil breeding program, with support from the Southern Pulse Agronomy team.

“PBA Hallmark XT was bred from selections developed from a cross with PBA Herald XT and PBA Bolt,” he said.

“With a five to 12 per cent long term yield advantage over PBA Hurricane, and competitive yields against conventional variety PBA Ace, Hallmark is an attractive option for growers who require a herbicide-tolerant lentil variety (due to herbicide residues or weed issues) but who still want to achieve reasonable yields.”

PBA Hallmark XT also boasts good early vigour, high resistance to botrytis grey mould and moderate resistance to ascochyta blight.

Dr Shunmugam said these attributes would make it a preferred herbicide-tolerant lentil variety in many cropping regions.

“It is broadly adapted across the main lentil production regions in Victoria and South Australia,” he said.

“The moderate level of ascochyta blight resistance in PBA Hallmark XT will support production in medium to higher rainfall lentil growing regions.

“Furthermore, it has been rated as resistant to moderately resistant to botrytis grey mould, a distinct improvement over PBA Hurricane XT.

This will support its management in favourable seasons.”

PBA Hallmark XT, which was officially launched at Southern Pulse Agronomy’s Wimmera Field Day in October, will be marketed and managed by PBSeeds.