AGT variety support manager for Qld and northern NSW Douglas Lush and wheat breeder Dr Meiqin Lu at the launch of AGT-Glamour CL Plus and AGT- Agile in Narrabri last week. Photo: AGT

TWO new Australian Premium Hard wheat varieties, AGT-Agile and AGT-Glamour CL Plus, have been released by Australian Grain Technologies to offer New South Wales and Queensland growers new options for maximising productivity, flexibility and profitability.

Launched at the University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute Field Day held in Narrabri last week, the varieties have been developed to maintain premium grain quality required by end users, and address specific challenges facing grain growers.

These include planting-window management, disease pressure, and herbicide-residue considerations.

AGT variety support manager for Qld and northern NSW Douglas Lush said both varieties fill important gaps in the market and provide growers with greater confidence when making variety selection decisions.

“Growers are seeking varieties that combine reliable yield performance with practical agronomic advantages,” Mr Lush said.

“AGT-Agile and AGT-Glamour CL Plus have each been developed to address specific grower needs, whether that’s capturing the benefits of earlier sowing opportunities or providing greater flexibility where herbicide residues may limit rotational options.”

AGT-Agile is a very slow-maturing APH wheat best suited to mid to late-April planting and has been developed as a more user-friendly alternative to Sunmax.

The variety fills an important maturity gap between Sunmax and LRPB Raider, offering growers a broader planting window, improved grain size, stronger disease resistance and excellent physical grain quality characteristics.

AGT wheat breeder Meiqin Lu said AGT-Agile was designed to address some of the limitations associated with existing varieties.

“Our breeding objective was to provide growers with a high-performing variety that offers greater flexibility and consistency across the early planting window,” Dr Lu said.

“AGT-Agile delivers a strong package of yield potential, APH grain quality and very strong resistance to stem rust, stripe rust and leaf rust, giving growers confidence in a range of production environments.”

Mr Lush said trials had demonstrated AGT-Agile’s strong fit for northern farming systems.

“Compared with current alternatives, AGT-Agile provides improvements in grain size, disease resistance and overall performance, particularly for growers targeting mid-April sowing opportunities,” he said.

“It combines dependable yield, excellent grain quality and a shorter, more conservative plant type with good lodging tolerance, making it a valuable addition to the northern wheat portfolio.”

AGT-Glamour CL Plus is the only APH-quality Clearfield-tolerant wheat variety available in a slow maturity suited to earlier planting in NSW and Qld.

Derived from Coolah, AGT-Glamour CL Plus combines tolerance to Clearfield Intervix herbicide with very high and stable grain yield, low screenings, and high testweights.

The variety also offers very good resistance and tolerance to the Pratylenchus thornei root-lesion nematode, strengthening its appeal across NSW and Qld.

Dr Lu said AGT-Glamour CL Plus was developed in response to long-standing industry feedback.

“For many years growers and advisers have been looking for a high-performing Clearfield wheat that could be planted earlier while still delivering APH-quality grain,” she said.

“AGT-Glamour CL Plus answers that demand, providing the performance growers expect together with the flexibility of Clearfield tolerance in a slow-maturing background.”

Mr Lush said one of the variety’s greatest strengths is the flexibility it provides following summer crop programs that include imidazolinone herbicides.

“Growers can sometimes face difficult rotational decisions where herbicide residues remain in the soil,” he said.

“AGT-Glamour CL Plus provides an excellent plant-back option in these situations, allowing growers to move confidently into their winter cropping program while maintaining strong yield and grain quality potential.”

He said the variety’s appeal extends well beyond its herbicide tolerance.

“This is not simply a niche herbicide-tolerant variety,” Mr Lush said.

“AGT-Glamour CL Plus has consistently matched the leading non-herbicide tolerant competitors for yield performance while offering the added benefit of Clearfield tolerance, making it a compelling option for a broad range of growers.”

Together, the two APH wheat varieties provide growers with new opportunities to capture the benefits of early planting, manage agronomic risks, and optimise returns across diverse farming systems.

Source: AGT