Brumby, the dark horse from the InterGrain stables, has again performed exceptionally well in paddocks across Western Australia.
Originally thought to be a variety set for the medium to high rainfall areas, is has proven itself in some very tough conditions in the 2023 season.
Brumby was released in 2022 as a high yielding, mid-maturing APW wheat with a robust disease resistance profile - including resistance to powdery mildew and providing a tool to manage this critical disease.
Stretching its legs from the high disease pressure environments into some of the toughest graingrowing environments, it has become a versatile wheat variety option.
Senior wheat breeder Dr David Tabah was delighted with Brumby's performance, a surprising result given the quick season in some areas.
"Usually, we would not expect a variety that sits on the longer side of the mid-maturing line to perform as well as Brumby has, given the very tough finish this season," Mr Tabah said.
"We have received positive feedback from growers that Brumby has proven itself across all rainfall zones this season and we are looking forward to seeing the final results from our internal trials and NVT data.
"In those parts of the State that had high moisture conditions, Brumby's robust disease resistance package was very much appreciated.
"Its powdery mildew resistance has shown to be durable with low or no infection levels observed in high disease-pressure environments in trials and paddocks."
Reuben Woods, who farms with parents Steve and Suzanne at Emdavale Farms, put Brumby to the test in 2023 at their Calingiri property.
It stood out as a potential variety for its slower maturity, excellent disease package, performance in the NVTs and complimentary fit with their mainstay wheat, Devil, which is a quick-mid variety.
The season started reasonably well for the Woods family, with the 200 hectares of Brumby sown at 70 kilograms per hectare on May 16.
Their seed was untreated but had flutriafol upfront at seeding.
This was sown alongside Calibre, at a rate of 90kg/ha.
The season progressed with below average rainfall and a tight, dry August.
A season-saving 20 millimetres of rain fell at the start of September, taking the growing season rainfall to 300mm, well below the annual average of 400mm.
"The Brumby looked great all season," Mr Woods said.
We weren't able to find any disease in it and it has great vigour and a massive flag leaf.
"I really like the plant type.
"As the season progressed, I was guessing that the quicker-maturing Calibre and Devil would out-yield the Brumby, given the quick, tough season."
When it came to harvest, Mr Woods said Devil performed exceptionally well, yielding four tonnes per hectare and making APWN quality.
Brumby also yielded 4t/ha, although it had higher screenings than Devil and a lower grade.
Calibre yielded just below at 3.9t/ha.
"The Brumby was sown last in the wheat program and had 15-20 units of nitrogen less than the Devil and a was on a more challenging soil type," Mr Woods said.
This season they plan to plant Brumby earlier and add a bit more nitrogen.
"The powdery mildew disease rating for Brumby is going to be critical for us, especially in our wheat on wheat rotation, where other main season wheats like Devil have a lower rating," he said.
"Another bonus of Brumby this season was the straw production, baling around 2.2t/ha."
The Woods family will test Brumby across a wider portion of its wheat program this year to see how it performs across a range of soil types and rotations.
Heading south east, Luke Hipwell at Pingaring, took a gamble sowing Brumby in late June after a very late break on his property, Cape Karara Farms.
He said they were looking for a variety that gave an improved disease package, a different maturity and a higher yield over their main wheat variety Scepter.
"We had a later break this season and decided to put the Brumby in last after delaying the start of our seeding program," Mr Hipwell said.
"The majority of our wheat area was sown to Scepter across May and early June.
"We have some challenging soil types across the farm and have also done some deep ripping which seemed to improve yields this season."
After receiving 40mm in May and June, Brumby was sown in June across yellow sands and heavier soils over both ripped and unripped areas.
Scepter was sown slightly earlier in June alongside it.
"The Brumby looked really good all season, even though well outside its sowing window and we could not see any disease in it," Mr Hipwell said.
"The crop only received 95mm after it was sown, and I was slightly concerned it would not be enough.
"We were really surprised come harvest time that the Brumby yielded 1.7-1.9 t/ha in the ripped sections and 1.3 t/ha in the non-ripped sections.
"The Scepter alongside yielded just over 1 tonne/ha.
"It was a great result considering the variety was pushed outside of its ideal sowing time.
"We were really pleased with Brumby's resilience and plan to sow it earlier in the program in 2024 to get a bit more diversity into our wheat program."
p More information: Go to intergrain.com.au
