Media Release

AGT’s Shotgun has been a standout performer in their breeding program, and builds upon a famous lineage of varieties: Wyalkatchem, Mace and then Scepter. Shotgun is derived from Scepter and is agronomically very similar. Growers who have experience with Scepter can view Shotgun as a Scepter replacement, with the same maturity and plant type, but offering much higher yield. Shotgun can also be viewed as an alternative to Vixen and Rockstar, for those looking for the next big yield jump. Shotgun has a very similar disease resistance package to Scepter and offers small improvements in powdery mildew and stripe rust resistance, however, Shotgun will need to be managed like Scepter for these diseases. We believe that the package of very high yield, good disease resistance, reliable agronomic and physical grain quality attributes and an AH quality classification will mean that Shotgun is likely to become an important variety for main season plantings across southern NSW. Dual purpose, graze and grain wheat varieties have traditionally been very valuable to mixed farmers, providing more than one opportunity to generate income throughout the season. The use of dual purpose varieties has continued to gain in popularity, perhaps due to a shift in earlier sowing of grain-only crops. Our newest variety in this space, Brighton, is poised to offer even more advancements in productivity, offering improvements in yield and physical grain quality over Illabo. Brighton also offers improved yellow leaf spot resistance over IllaboP, however is more susceptible to powdery mildew and septoria tritici blotch. Brighton is a quick-mid maturing winter wheat, reaching head emergence slightly faster than Illabo across a range of sowing dates. Brighton is derived from popular main season wheat variety Beckom, and has inherited Beckom’s shorter plant height and aluminium (acid soils) tolerance genes. Like Beckom and many other varieties, Brighton may express physiological leaf yellowing throughout winter; however will grow out of these symptoms in spring. To maximise grain only yield, Brighton appears ideally suited to mid-late April sowing in high yield environments, and mid April in lower yielding environments. To maximise the length of safe grazing time, Brighton may be sown from mid March through to mid April.