WHEN it comes to barley, new variety RGT Planet, has proven itself as a “multi-environmental fit” with a “wow” factor.
Seed Force Pty Ltd’s broadacre business manager, (NSW/North-East Victoria), David Leah, Wagga Wagga, said from National Variety Trials (NVT) evaluation and other trials in Tasmania and New Zealand, this variety was the biggest thing that’s happened since the popular variety, Hindmarsh.
“One of the great things about RGT Planet is that it’s extremely flexible,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a freak of a variety as it just changes itself to suit the environment – a multi-environmental fit.”
Mr Leah said the new variety had “done it” across all types of country last season.
“Whether it was a 2.5 or three tonne per hectare site or seven to 10 tonne site, the higher the yield the more it can show its full potential.
“But even in lower yielding sites it has performed as good as anything else, or better.”
Managing Director of the Foundation for Arable Research Australia, Nick Poole, Inverleigh, Vic, said RGT Planet seemed to have “middle-of-the-road” characteristics but big yields.
“Every so often you get a variety that really stands out and in our trials RGT Planet and sister-line, Conquest did exceptionally well.”
In New Zealand and Tasmania the cultivar has been a variety in a Grains and Research Development Corporation (GRDC) funded “Hyper Yield in Cereal” project, in possibly the longest season length in Australia.
“We have achieved over 10t/ha in Tasmania with both varieties,” Mr Poole said.
“The cultivars were looked at in two levels of management alongside eight others and also compared against Westminster, a popular variety grown in Tasmania.
“Both varieties were some 20 per cent ahead of Westminster in yield.
“That doesn’t happen very often and makes us reasonably excited about them in longer seasons scenarios.”
RGT Planet was released in Europe in 2010 and has since been the top yielding variety in many countries and also accredited there as a malting barley.
In 2016 NVT trials among 13 varieties RGT Planet was the highest yielding variety in 60pc of the sites.
Across NSW grain yields ranged from 3.29t/ha at Gilgandra to 6.96t/ha at Lockhart.
Mr Poole said Planet had a moderate straw strength and medium crop height.
“It’s not a standout as the most disease resistant with moderate susceptibility in screens ran in Tasmania and New Zealand to the net blotches.”
