"Flours Ain't Flours" Says 2002 Farrer Memorial Medal Winner

Associate Professor Gil Hollamby, former leader of the wheat breeding research team at Adelaide University, will be presented with the 2002 Farrer Memorial Medal on Tuesday, September 3.

The presentation ceremony will take place in the university’s Elder Hall at 8 p.m. Colleagues, producers and industry representatives are invited to attend the ceremony.

Professor Hollamby, who started breeding wheat varieties in 1961, will present the Farrer Memorial Oration entitled "Flours Ain’t Flours".

The Farrer Memorial Medal is conferred annually by the Farrer Memorial Trust to perpetuate the memory of the wheat breeder William James Farrer and to provide encouragement and inspiration to Australian agricultural scientists.

Professor Hollamby has made a significant contribution to the wheat industry by breeding wheats to produce improved high yielding varieties for southern Australia, well adapted to the uncertainties and stresses of the region’s Mediterranean environment.

Varieties released by Professor Hollamby include Blade, Dagger, Excalibur, Machete, Spear, Stiletto and Trident.

They were selected for adaptation to soils deficient in trace elements or having potentially toxic levels of Boron. Resistance to stem, strip and leaf rust, to septoria tritici blotch and cereal cyst nematode were other important attributes.

Spear became the most widely grown variety in Australia during the 1990s. In years with high grain returns such as 1997-98, Professor Hollamby’s varieties together represented a gross value to the Australian economy of over $1 billion dollars.

In the 2001 National Science Week, Professor Hollamby was recognised as the "unsung hero of South Australian Science".

Media contacts: Phil Anquetil 02 9372 0120