This GRDC-invested project aims to provide wheat growers in the Great Southern Region of WA with a winter wheat varietal decision-making tool that provides them with independent and credible yield, disease and grain quality information to make the most profitable variety decisions and generally promote the production benefits of winter wheats compared to a spring wheat.

Project Background:

Winter wheats have slowly been growing in popularity with local growers in the Great Southern Region. Initially they have been adopted in grain and graze enterprises with an emphasis on maximising the grazing opportunity, or by the more ‘innovative’ growers in the region who have looked at utilising agronomy from the eastern states to close the yield gap. However, these wheats are now more mainstream amongst both mixed enterprise and crop-only farming businesses. 

This can be partly attributed to the various winter wheat investments that have been rolled out in the region over the last five years, although it should be noted that many of these have included few ‘true’ winter wheat varieties. A winter wheat trial conducted by DPIRD in 2021 showed that of the winter wheats (loosely termed) sown mid-April in Katanning, Illabo was the highest yielding closely followed by DS Bennett. It can be argued that the sowing time for DS Bennett was not early enough (late March, early April optimal), and the sowing date favoured Illabo, as is the case with some other winter wheat trials. It is also worth noting that DS Bennett was the only ‘true’ winter wheat in this trial with the full vernalisation response.

Local growers have had outstanding results from both DS Bennett and RGT Accroc and are keen to understand what other varieties of a similar calibre are available and up-and-coming. As an example of the success, the RGT Accroc and DS Bennett yielded an average of 7.7t/ha across the entrants in the hyper yielding awards paddocks (GRDC investment) in 2022. Whilst the spring wheats that have so far been analysed yielded an average of 6.2t/ha.

A current opportunity exists, while there is grower appetite, to deliver to growers in the Great Southern Region, variety and disease package data that will assist them to choose the most suitable ‘true’ winter wheat for their enterprise. SCF has been approached on numerous occasions by local growers asking for advice on the best-suited winter wheats for the area, however, without research backing, have been unable to give this advice and have instead pointed them in the direction of the Eastern state’s winter wheat variety trials

METHOD:

The trial will be farm-scale and located west of Mount Barker. Six winter wheat varieties will be sown in the trial no later than 7 April 2023, providing there is adequate soil moisture. The varieties are:

• RGT Accroc

• DS Bennett

• Ilabo

• IGW6755 (Intergrain)

• RGT Cesario

• Mowhawk

 At least two seeder width strips of at least 250 metres in length will be sown for each variety (constrained by grain availability). The last 70-80 metres of each run will remain free from fungicide apart from an initial in-furrow treatment (Uniform at 150mL/Ha). The winter wheats will be compared to an adjacent paddock of spring wheat (most likely Scepter), sown at a typical spring wheat seeding date (mid-May).

Data collection and monitoring will include baseline soil sampling, plant counts, plant tissue tests, disease scoring, and harvest yields. At least one opportunistic field walk to the trial site will be held during 2023 to share the results to date and explain the demonstration objectives. SCF will also share details of the trial site location with neighbouring grower and agronomy groups, including Consult Ag.

RESOURCES