With a keen eye on the future and 20/20 vision, leading Australian cereal breeding company, InterGrain, has launched its latest wheat, RockStar and it’s set to hit the ground and perform in 2020 and beyond.
RockStar is tipped to rock wheat yields within the mid to late flowering class in Western Australia where it will play off against Magenta and in eastern Australia against LRPB Trojan.
A high yielding wheat that performs across a range of environments, RockStar sets a new yield benchmark for mid to late flowering wheats in western (WA) and southern (SA/VIC) wheat growing areas, where it has recently received Australian Hard (AH) classification in the southern (SA/VIC) and western (WA) zones and is a potential AH in the South-Eastern zone (Southern NSW).
According to InterGrain CEO Tress Walmsley, RockStar will be a hit with growers next year in southern wheat growing areas simply because it will give them an opportunity to spread their variety risk, while delivering superior yields, which should mean more money in the bank.
“Smart, profitable wheat growing in 2020 and beyond is all about making sound variety choices to minimise risk and maximise returns and this InterGrain mindset is hard wired into RockStar.
“We have a proven track record in breeding and releasing exceptionally high yielding wheats, including Vixen, Devil and new generation Clearfield® Plus wheats Chief CL Plus and Sheriff CL Plus. RockStar raises the bar again for its flowering class,” Ms Walmsley said.
RockStar offers an effective disease resistance package, including good yellow spot, powdery mildew and stripe rust resistance and very good stem rust resistance.
Trialled as IGW4341, it is moderate in height and an excellent varietal alternative to Magenta in Western Australia and LRPB Trojan in eastern Australia.
RockStar has good grain size and test weight, comparable to LRPB Trojan. It also has a moderate tillering capacity and a medium coleoptile.
According to InterGrain Wheat Breeder Dan Mullan, growers will welcome RockStar as a mid to late flowering variety to diversify their wheat variety planting portfolio and grasp earlier sowing opportunities.
“RockStar is an exceptionally high yielding variety which has consistently performed across a wide range of environments and sowing dates within the InterGrain and NVT trial programs, highlighting very good yield stability.”
“While RockStar has a medium coleoptile and effective tillering capacity and will hold its own in terms of weed competition, this also means growers should carefully consider appropriate seeding rates to achieve desired plant densities,” Dr Mullan said.
RockStar offers a robust disease package, including good powdery mildew (Rp), yellow spot (MRMSp), stem (MRp) and stripe rust (MRMSp) resistance.
Dr Mullan said growers would appreciate this because they understood the perils of major leaf diseases.
RockStar is available for planting in 2020 from Seedclub members and/or resellers.
For more information about RockStar, click here.
Alternatively, contact InterGrain Marketing Manager Ashleigh Brooks abrooks@intergrain.com or 0476 020451.