Maximus makes malt

25 February 2021 Barley News

Breeders, marketers, growers, brewers and beer drinkers look set to raise a toast to InterGrain’s newly malt accredited barley variety, Maximus CL.

Following Barley Australia’s announcement on the 18th of February that InterGrain’s imidazolinone (IMI) tolerant barley had been positively evaluated and now officially accredited as a malting barley variety, InterGrain CEO Tress Walmsley said Maximus CL making malt was great news for InterGrain and barley growers.

“InterGrain has always been about breeding barleys that meet the demands of the entire barley supply chain,” Ms Walmsley said.

“Nine years in the making, Maximus CL was developed as an alternative to what has been our leading barley variety, Spartacus CL, which has been widely adopted by growers across the country.

“Quick to mid-maturing variety, Maximus CL is set to improve grower profitability due to its new superior disease resistance, improved grain size, IMI tolerance and improved yield, whilst providing a path to malt markets.

“The quality attributes of Maximus CL should also be appreciated by the malting and brewing industries.”

“The Maximus CL malt success story reflects the hard work of InterGrain’s team, including breeder David Moody, operations, laboratory, marketing and support staff, plus growers who welcomed the opportunity to support the market development and accreditation processes over the last two seasons,” Ms Walmsley said.

One of those 2020 growers, Cunderdin’s Cale Beard of ‘Watercarrin Farm’, was really pleased with how Maximus CL performed, he had already nominated it to replace his current malt barley, Spartacus CL.

His Maximus CL had outyielded his Spartacus CL and also proved to have a better general disease package.

Maximus CL has excellent grain plumpness (larger than Spartacus CL) and hectolitre weight.

Maximus CL also has good resistance to both the net form and spot form of net blotch.

News of the malt accreditation for Maximus CL was now a bonus to the families planned barley planting this year, according to Mr Beard.

“Maximus will this year form the majority of our barley program, with the balance to be planted early to Scope CL.” he said.

“While the Clearfield technology is important for targeting weeds in crop, there’s not really too many agronomic challenges that limit barley in our system.

“What we plant and how much we plant really comes down to pricing and profitability. Now that Maximus is malt accredited and with its improved yield over Spartacus we’re excited for this year.

“Recently, InterGrain seems to have released new varieties that deliver an improved yield and often disease package for growers like us who are looking for a competitive advantage in an increasingly challenging agribusiness environment,” he said.

For more information about Maximus CL click here.