Consultants | Dr Paul Brennan

Wheat Breeding

Dr Paul Brennan was employed as a wheat breeder by the, then, Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI) at the, then, Queensland Wheat Research Institute (QWRI) from 1966 to 1999. Twenty three wheat varieties have been released as a result of Dr Brennan’s activities. These varieties have, over an extended period, occupied between 20 and 25% of Australian wheat plantings. This has a value to the Australian economy of about one billion dollars on present values. This is a very significant achievement as there were about eleven wheat breeders in Australia during this period and the Queensland wheat growing environment is substantially different in climate (predominantly summer rainfall) and soil type, has different market destinations and a different stress spectrum. Consequently, it was significant achievement to gain market share in southern and western Australia.

The success of his wheat breeding program was achieved through a detailed understanding of stakeholder requirements (both growers and consumers), innovative breeding strategies and collaboration with a wide range of scientists both within QDPI and other provider agencies. There was also a very strong commitment to industry outcomes from their investment in his breeding and research programs.

The varieties released were high yielding in many Australian environments, possessed a wide spectrum of pest and disease resistance/tolerance and had excellent processing quality suitable for a wide range of high value end products including volume bread, steam bread, flat bread and noodles.

Eighty percent of the investment in his program (including salaries) was provided by industry during the latter stages of his time with QDPI. He was a recipient of industry investment from July 1968 to June 1999.

His responsibilities also included developing the technical framework for pre and post release varietal evaluation and overseeing this operation.