New wheat variety Havoc will make a substantial jump in hectares at Allan Griffith’s Carnamah farm this season, going from a modest trial in 2018 to half the wheat program in 2019. Griffith, who grows wheat, barley and canola at 2400-hectare property, Dunromin, said the increase was due to Havoc’s quick maturity and high yield.
“We usually start dry seeding in May, as Havoc matures a week earlier than Mace, which is ideal for us,” he said.
Griffth obtained one tonne of Havoc seed to test against his commercial varieties Mace and Chief.
The Havoc was seeded at a rate of 43kg per hectare over 23ha, while Mace accounted for 70 per cent of the crop and Chief 30per cent. When they finished harvest in the first week of December, the results were in – 75 tonnes were stripped off the Havoc plot for an average yield of 3.26t/ha. The Chief yielded 3t/ha and Mace 2.8t/ha.
“Havoc was the highest yielder, had low screenings and was better to handle due to its shorter canopy. We were very happy with it, so this season’s program will be 50:50 Havoc and Chief.
“We missed out on good September finishing rain, but with the yields up and the price up, it was probably the best season on record for this area.”
The 75t of Havoc will be seeded to 700ha at 65kg/ha this season, with the same allotted to Chief. Mace will be stored as backup seed. This year will be the 82nd for the Griffith family at Dunromin – a property that was originally setup for livestock by Griffith’s father, Ernie, in 1937. Griffith took over the farm when his father retired in 1976 and now focuses solely on crops.
Havoc is marketed by Pacific Seeds, bred by LongReach Plant Breeders and is now free to trade farmer-to-farmer.