InterGrain’s quick to mid spring maturing AH wheat Vixen proved its versatility in 2020 for
Eyre Peninsula, South Australia grower Craig Kelsh at his ‘Venus Plains’ farm at Witera.
After planting 250 hectares in the second half of May, following Scepter in the first half, his
wheat crops got off to a good start before suffering from the very dry June and July, followed
by good rains in August, a warm and dry September and then good finishing rains in
October.
“With the excellent results I’ve had in the past two seasons with Vixen, I’m convinced it’s got
a fabulous fit for us because if you get a good finish it yields really well, but with a drier spring, as we usually experience, Vixen still performs well,” Mr Kelsh said.
His better Vixen paddocks this year yielded about three tonnes per hectare, about on a par
with Scepter, whereas last year his Vixen went 4.5t/ha.
“Having previously grown mainly Scepter we were looking for a high yielding variety that
was a bit quicker. Vixen has proven a winner on that front, “he said.
“Vixen now gives us an excellent option for drier springs. This year it handled the dry July
really well, even had the August rains not come, it would still have been way in front of the
Scepter as it was already out in head and ready to go.
“Vixen’s quality was also excellent at the business end of the season too, going H1 or H2 with
no screenings and good test weight.
“It stood up well at harvest, making it an absolute pleasure to reap.
“Earlier in September when the hot weather struck, Vixen held its colour really well, it looked
a better colour than our Scepter and healthier right through the season,” Mr Kelsh said.
This year’s cropping program at ‘Venus Plains’ comprised 4000ha of cereals and 500ha of
pulses and oilseeds.
In 2021, Mr Kelsh anticipates one third of his cereal planting will be to Vixen.
Neighbours were also impressed with his Vixen crop’s performance and he’s already sold
them 170 tonnes from this year’s harvest. Vixen is available for farmer to farmer trade.
According to InterGrain, Vixen is the highest yielding, quick-mid maturing AH wheat in South
Australia, based on average 2015-19 SA long-term annual NVT data.
Vixen offers a significant yield advantage compared to Corack (approximately 10 per cent),
and 2-3% average advantage compared to Scepter, based on SA 2015-19 long-term main
season annual NVT results.
Bred by InterGrain’s Dr Dan Mullan, Vixen offers a true varietal opportunity within wheat
programs to help spread flowering windows during critical spring stress periods.
In addition to the variety’s stand-out yield performance, it offers good stripe (MRMS) and
stem (MRMS) rust and yellow leaf spot (MRMS) resistance.
Vixen has strong physical grain characteristics, with good grain size and hectolitre weight
and also short plant height, which may assist stubble management in high yielding seasons
and environments.
For more information on Vixen, contact SA Territory Manager Josh Reichstein at
jreichstein@intergrain.com or 0422 235 537.
