New Wheat Works for Southern HRZ30-Jun-2014

WHEAT breeder AGT is confident its new Kiora variety will provide a bold new option to growers in medium to high rainfall zones across SA, NSW and Victoria.

AGT winter wheat breeder Britt Kalmeier, who is based in Wagga Wagga, NSW, said Kiora was a variety based on the popular but aging Chara line along with Frame and Condor genetics.

Ms Kalmeier said it providing growers in medium and above rainfall zones a high yielding hard variety.

“It is a mid to late season maturing variety and it can make hard segregations, so we feel people who are looking to grow a milling variety could have good success with it,” she said at the Southern Farming Systems (SFS) AgriFocus event at Lake Bolac earlier in the month.

She said it would fit in well in terms of time of sowing for growers looking for a change from other popular high rainfall zone milling wheat varieties such as Bolac and Derrimut.

Kiora matures a day or two earlier than Bolac, and Ms Kalmeier said it has improved grain size and higher test weight than that cultivar.
In terms of disease management, Ms Kalmeier said Kiora has a good all round package, with excellent resistance to stripe and leaf rust and good resistance to stem rust.

It is somewhat weaker against yellow leaf spot, where it is moderately susceptible to susceptible, while it has moderate susceptibility to cereal cyst nematode. In terms of appearance, it is a fully awned wheat.

Farmonline

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