Australia’s largest plant breeding company, Australian Grain Technologies (AGT), has recently announced the release of seven new field crop varieties, available for the 2025 season.

Head of variety support and marketing for AGT Dan Vater from  Roseworthy in SA, is excited to see a number of firsts coming through the AGT breeding pipeline.

“This spring we have released our very first clearfield barley variety, called Bigfoot CL, and are proud to launch our first udon noodle quality wheat variety called Rottnest,” Mr Vater says. 

“Bigfoot CL is closely related to the taller varieties that offer good early vigour such as Compass and Commodus CL, however Bigfoot CL has reduced over-all height and we have observed less lodging than other Compass style varieties,” he explains.

“Bigfoot CL has impressed with its yield potential particularly in low to medium rainfall environments and has very good physical grain quality”.

Staying on barley varieties, AGT has also announced the release of another variety in the CoAXium range, called PegasusAX.

“PegasusAX is a great complement to its stablemate Titan AX, being closely related to the Hindmarsh varieties and therefore offering a shorter, more compact plant type than Titan AX, and less prone to lodging”, Mr Vater said.

“The CoAXium system is starting to gain traction out there with growers who are looking for another option for controlling grass weeds in crop,” he adds.

“And by using Aggressor herbicide rather than products suited to the clearfield system, growers don’t have to worry about residue carry over in the soil.”

Back on wheat varieties, Mr Vater explains the company started breeding varieties suited to udon noodle production back in 2018, with a breeding program being conducted in Northam, WA.

“Wheat grown for udon noodle production makes up around 10 per cent of WA’s total wheat production,” he said.

“We started breeding for this quality type a few years ago to offer WA growers greater choice in this important market segment, with the aim of delivering high quality varieties sought after by the market combined with an agronomic package that provides greater returns to growers.

“Rottnest is our first variety out of this dedicated breeding program, offering exceptional yields, outclassing market leader Ninja by almost 8 per cent in AGT trials.”

Perhaps viewed as AGT’s big ticket item of the year, is wheat variety Shotgun.

Shotgun is derived from Scepter, and growers familiar with that may view Shotgun as a clear replacement.

“Shotgun has been a standout performer in our breeding program, and builds upon a famous lineage of varieties, Wyalkatchem, Mace, and Scepter,” Mr Vater says.

“Shotgun is very well suited to WA, SA, Victoria and into southern NSW, and has set a new yield benchmark across the majority of regions within those states. We see Shotgun as an excellent alternative to not only Scepter, but Calibre, Vixen, Rockstar, Matador and Ballista, among other main season wheat varieties”.

In southern NSW, the wheat variety Beckom has been a main season staple since its release in 2015, offering a robust disease resistance package, wide adaptation across hostile soils, and consistently high yields.

AGT is now offering new variety Ironbark, which builds upon the success of its parent, Beckom.

“Ironbark has inherited several of the major traits that have made Beckom such a popular variety, including a compact plant canopy, similar maturity, and carries aluminium and boron tolerance genes,” Mr Vater says.

“However, Ironbark offers a number of improvements over Beckom, including higher yields, larger grain size, and improved stripe and leaf rust resistance”.

Heading further south, AGT has released the wheat variety Avoca, suited to the high rainfall zones of Victoria.

“Avoca has been released in recognition of the growing need for slower maturing milling wheat varieties suited to higher rainfall environments, offering growers more marketing flexibility at harvest relative to the standard red or feed grained wheat varieties that have been grown in areas like Victoria’s western district,” he says.

“Avoca is a slow maturing spring wheat with an AH quality classification, offering high yield potential in high rainfall or longer season situations, with an excellent disease resistance package, which is critical in its target environments.”

And finally, Brighton wheat has entered the market as a direct replacement for popular dual purpose winter wheat, Illabo.

“Illabo has been a success story, offering mixed farmers a reliable variety to sow early, and to help fill the autumn feed gap if needed. Brighton is poised to offer even more productivity than Illabo, with improvements in yield and physical grain quality,” Mr Vater said.

“Brighton should find a home throughout southern NSW, where Illabo has been widely grown, and where it has an APH quality classification.

“But we have also seen Illabo used as an early sowing option in WA and can see a fit for Brighton there too as an AH quality variety.”