Summary

The project will produce sufficient quantities of 5 new triticale varieties and breeding lines at the Plant Breeding Institute, University of Sydney. In addition, grain samples of the cultivar Tobruk will be collected on farm from three different locations and all 5 seed lots used for poultry feeding trials in the first year. AME and chemical analysis will be carried out to determine the chemical properties and AME values. Five selected lines will be grown over 2 locations in the second year and at least three triticale lines will be selected for broiler studies. Samples of Tobruk cultivar will be used as “connectivity” grains to enable valid statistical comparisons between the two AME trials proposed here as well as to evaluate new AME data against existing results in the PGLP database These new data will be used to enhance NIR calibrations for AME and AME intake index for broilers. It is highly desirable that “connectivity grains be of the same cereal type as those being studied in AME experiments. Additional quantities of triticale grains are required as the current PGLP collection of grains does not include sufficient triticale samples.

Program

Chicken Meat

Research Organisation

The University of Sydney

Objective Summary

1) Evaluation of the suitability and value of recently developed high yielding triticale cultivars as ingredients in broiler diets.

2) Determination of the grain properties linked to high chicken feeding value that can be selected and improved in a triticale breeding program.

3) Incorporation of the derived values into the PGLP NIR calibrations for assessing the energy content (AME MJ/kg) and AME intake index of cereal grains for broilers.