The Cereal Performance Trials (CPT) provides farmers with the information they need to make informed decisions on cereal seed options.

Through the CPT, a number of commercial and pre-commercial cereal lines are assessed for yield, quality and disease resistance traits at sites across appropriate cereal production regions in New Zealand.
Trials started in 1993 under the umbrella of ACE (Arable Cultivar Evaluation), with five trial sites in Canterbury evaluating autumn feed & milling wheat trials. By 1995, the programme had expanded to include barley, spring sowings, and Southland and Manawatu were added to the site list. In 1998, the programme’s name was changed to CPT.
The CPTs are organised and funded through the CPT Committee made up of representatives of the NZ Flour Millers Association Research Trust (NZFMART), Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), PBRA, Plant & Food Research (PFR) and participating seed companies. Any organisation or company may join the Committee if they agree to pay an appropriate share of the operating costs, participate in the running of trials or contribute a service, such as the malting tests.
The CPTs comprise of two stages, administered jointly through a single management committee.
CPT 1
Pre-commercial: assesses performance of advanced breeding lines within a series of collaborative breeder/seed company operated trials. Breeders/seed companies apply to promote promising lines into CPT 2.
CPT 2
Focuses on close to market pre-commercial and commercial cultivars, with maximum quality and environment assessment.
CPT has a total of 29 trial sites across NZ (Southland, Canterbury, Manawatu). All sites host CPT 2 trials, with 15 of the Canterbury sites also hosting CPT 1 trials. Trials are run on a mix of dryland and irrigated sites. They are sown in commercial crops and receive the same management as the surrounding cereal crop. A maximum of 20 cultivars are allowed in each trial.
For a copy of the most recent CPT Booklets: