Versatile wheat grows in popularity

This is exactly what New South Wales grower Brendan Pattison, Marrar, found when he trialled Illabo in 2019.

"I am a continuous cropper with no livestock, so I haven't grown a winter wheat for a long time," Mr Pattison said.

"However, I was interested in trialling Illabo as a prime hard early sowing option to not only capitalise on early rainfall, but to also to utilise and access residual moisture in the profile."

Illabo was trialed on Mr Pattison's property sown early-mid April, achieving a yield of 2.2t/ha.

It produced good test weights and low screenings which was a pleasing result given the season.

"As I have a grain-only enterprise, I am looking to achieve a higher harvest index," Mr Pattison said.

"Illabo definitely delivered on that."

Illabo's winter habit and later maturity was an attractive trait for Mr Pattison as he believes that it could help to mitigate frost risk, while its resistance to stripe rust and black point are also big positives.

He said he is interested in trialling Illabo again in 2020 on a larger scale to further evaluate how it fits in his farming system.

While most growers are utilising Illabo for increased early dry matter production over other winter wheat varieties for grazing, Mr Pattison is hoping the early sowing will result in less risk and more yield come harvest time.

"I will aim to sow Illabo slightly earlier this year," Mr Pattison said.

"We will see if it maintains its performance in a year with less residual moisture than 2019."

Illabo has an APH classification for the South-Eastern Zone of NSW.

Commercial quantities of Illabo are available through AGT Affiliates, the AGT Seed Sharing Initiative or local retailers.

AGT develop new field crop varieties which they hope are more productive, better quality and cost less.