INTERGRAIN’S new high-yielding and quick-mid maturing wheat, Jillaroo, has received an Australian Hard (AH) classification for the northern as well as the southern Wheat Quality Australia zones.
These encompass growing areas in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.
According to InterGrain national wheat breeder, Dan Mullan, Jillaroo’s launch highlights InterGrain’s
cereal-breeding investment into Australia’s northern cropping region.
“Jillaroo’s release reflects the focus the InterGrain wheat-breeding program has placed on delivering
high-yielding, well-adapted varieties that meet the agronomic needs and quality expectations of
growers in the northern NSW and Queensland wheat-producing regions,” Dr Mullan said.
InterGrain’s Queensland-based northern region territory manager Matt Naumann said Jillaroo has
shown very good yield potential in the main-season sowing window, and is broadly adapted across
the region, yielding competitively with other top-performing quick to quick-mid maturing wheats.
“We will be releasing Jillaroo with limited tonnages this season, and will have small quantities available
for paddock, local reseller and grower group trials,” Mr Naumann said.
“With Jillaroo’s quick-mid maturity, we would recommend sowing from mid-May onwards, and with
current moisture profiles, there’s also potential for growers to double crop their 2021-22 summer
ground with a late-sown wheat if prices remain favourable and we receive good planting rains in
June-July.”
Jillaroo is quicker maturing than LRPB Mustang and slightly longer than InterGrain’s Vixen.
Jillaroo performed exceptionally well in the National Variety Trials (NVT) in 2021, delivering a yield
advantage of 7 per cent compared to LRPB Mustang in northern NSW, and 6pc in southern
Queensland.
The variety also has a promising quality profile, with potential for a future Australian Prime Hard (APH) classification.
Jillaroo is a very compact vareity with a moderate plant height, and a different plant architecture in comparison to other commonly grown varieties in the region.
Jillaroo has an adequate disease-resistance package, good yellow leaf spot resistance, and good test weight, and offers an adequate grain size, reducing screening risks.
“We anticipate seeing Jillaroo profitably integrated across northern farming systems over the next few
seasons and look forward to grower feedback on the variety’s paddock performance,” Dr Mullan said.
Source: InterGrain
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