Victorian crop sowing guide
The Victorian Crop Sowing Guide outlines information on current varieties of the major winter crops grown in Victoria. The publication aims to prompt growers to ask themselves, ‘Am I growing the best variety for my situation?’
The Victorian Crop Sowing Guide is compiled by Agriculture Victoria, with sources of additional information listed in each chapter. Local advisers are also a key resource for information relevant to individual localities.
Growers are encouraged to use this publication as a guide for discussion with consultants, advisers and marketing agents.
It’s important for growers and advisers to review disease resistance ratings around March each year in the Agriculture Victoria cereal and pulse disease guides to ensure they know the current resistance ratings of varieties.
The latest National Variety Trials (NVT) data is also available early in the year, through the website and the Harvest Reports.
The Victorian Crop Sowing Guide is a joint investment between the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Agriculture Victoria.
Thank you to GRDC and all contributors for making this publication available to Victoria.
National Variety Trials (NVT)
The variety trials presented in this guide are sourced from the NVT program. NVT also provides data from some breeding trials to add to the information available.
In Victoria, NVTs are fully funded by GRDC and in 2021 field trial management was contracted to 3 service providers across Victoria.
NVTs provide independent information on varieties for growers. The aim of each NVT is to document a ranking of new and widely adopted varieties in terms of grain yield and to provide grain quality information relevant to delivery standards.
NVTs are also used by pathologists to determine disease resistance ratings used in this sowing guide.
Conducted to a set of predetermined protocols, NVTs are sown and managed as close as possible to local best practice such as:
- sowing time
- fertiliser application
- weed management
- pest and disease control – including fungicide application
NVTs are not designed to grow varieties to their maximum yield potential.
It is acknowledged that an ongoing project of this type would not be possible without the cooperation of farmers prepared to contribute sites, and who often assist with the management of trials on their property.
New varieties for 2022
There are several new wheat varieties being released for sowing in 2022:
Bread wheats:
- Boree(PBR) (AGT Breeding)
- Calibre(PBR) (AGT Breeding)
- LRPB Bale(PBR) (LongReach Plant Breeders)
- LRPB Dual(PBR) (LongReach Plant Breeders)
- Sunmaster(PBR) (AGT Breeding)
- Valiant CL Plus(PBR) (InterGrain)
Durum wheats:
- DBA Artemis(PBR) (University of Adelaide)
- DBA Mataroi(PBR) (NSW DPI)
Feed wheats:
- RGT Cesario (RAGT Semences)
- Severn (S&W Seed Company)
Commodus CL(PBR), Cyclops(PBR) and Minotaur(PBR) are new barley varieties currently undergoing Barley Australia evaluation for malting and brewing accreditation, while Nitro is a new non-malting barley available for the 2022 season.
Fifteen new canola varieties were released in 2021 and are available for sowing in 2022.
Grains Innovation Australia (GIA) has again included four new field pea and one lentil varieties marked for potential release for 2022. Further information on the release and availability of these new varieties will be available from GIA in late 2021 or early 2022.
Agriculture Victoria Research have released two new field pea varieties in 2021, Kaspa-type PBA Taylor(PBR) and the first blue field pea to be released since 1999, PBA Noosa(PBR).
While vetch and triticale are both a part of the guide and highlight some of the commonly grown varieties available in Victoria, and their characteristics, vetch and triticale are currently not evaluated as part of the NVTs in Victoria.
Download the guide
Download the full guide to your computer or tablet from the GRDC website.
To ensure you receive a copy in the mail each year, subscribe to GRDC GroundCover.