AGT has five wheat breeding programs operating from four major centres located throughout Australia’s wheat producing regions.

The hybrid wheat breeding program focuses primarily on the development of high yielding disease resistant hybrid and conventional varieties for the high yield potential environments of NSW, where growers can best capture the advantages of heterosis conferred by hybrid wheat varieties.

Each of the remaining program focuses on a major segment of the Australian wheat market based on differences in genetic requirements for adaptation, disease resistances, tolerances to stresses, and range of quality types produced in each environment.

Narrabri (Plant Breeding Institute, Narrabri, NSW)

The Narrabri based program focuses on the adaptation, disease resistance, and quality types required in the Northern Australian wheat belt.

The major focus of the program is superior grain yield and adaptation, resistance to the current and future prevalent races of leaf, stem and stripe rust, crown rot (Fusarium sp), root lesion nematode (P.thorni), yellow leaf spot (tan spot) resistance, and tolerance to blackpoint and pre-harvest sprouting.

The Narrabri based program focuses on developing varieties suitable for Australia’s premium hard spring white wheat export quality grade, Australian Prime Hard, which is sourced by premium South East Asian markets for use predominantly in pan breads and yellow alkaline noodles.

This program is managed by Senior Wheat Breeder and team leader, Dr Meiqin Lu.

Horsham (Grains Innovation Park, Victoria DPI, Horsham, Victoria)

The Horsham based program focuses on the adaptation, disease resistance and quality types required to cover the following areas; southern New South Wales, north east, central and south west Victoria and the south east region of South Australia. This area includes the irrigated cereal cropping areas of the Murray Darling basin and the high rainfall zone of south eastern Australia.

This program’s major focus is resistance to the current and future prevalent pathotypes of leaf, stem and stripe rust, septoria leaf blotch (S. tritici), yellow leaf spot (tan spot), and cereal cyst nematode resistance (H.avenea).

The Horsham program deals with a diversity of quality targets including hard and soft grained white spring wheat types for both the domestic and export markets and feed types.

This program is managed by Senior Wheat Breeder and team leader, Dr Russell Eastwood.

Roseworthy (Roseworthy Campus, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, South Australia)

The Roseworthy based program focuses on the adaptation, disease resistance and quality types required to cover the market segments of South Australia (excluding the south east), the Victorian mallee and the mallee soils of the Western Australian wheat belt.

This program’s major focus is resistance to the current and future prevalent pathotypes of leaf, stem and stripe rust, cereal cyst nematode (H.avenae) resistance, root lesion nematode (P.neglectus) resistance and yellow leaf spot (tan spot) resistance.

It also focuses on developing white hard grained spring wheat varieties suitable primarily for Australia’s export markets.

This program is managed by Senior Wheat Breeder and team leader Dr Haydn Kuchel.

AGT-WA (Esperance, Western Australia)

The AGT-WA (partnership between AGT and COGGO) program focuses on the adaptation, disease resistance and quality types required by growers in the Western Australian wheat belt.

The AGT-WA program’s major focus is resistance to the current and future prevalent pathotypes of leaf, stem and stripe rust, Septoria leaf blotch diseases (S.nodorum and S. tritici) resistance, yellow leaf spot (tan spot) resistance, and tolerance to blackpoint and pre-harvest sprouting.

It also focuses on developing both hard and soft white-grained spring wheat varieties suitable primarily for Australia’s export markets.

This program is managed by Senior Wheat Breeder and team leader Mr Kevin Young.