A GLOBAL first was revealed at the Hart Field Day on Tuesday - a new imidazolinone-tolerant oaten hay variety GIA1701 was launched, dubbed 'Kingbale'.
A joint effort by Intergrain, private breeding company Grains Innovation Australia and Nufarm, Kingbale is the first imi-tolerant oat variety in the world.
It is also the first product GIA has brought to market since its establishment in 2012.
It is also Intergrain's first foray into oat breeding, more well known for wheat and barley varieties.
"We have a lot of expertise in imi-tolerant wheat and barley varieties, so this was an exciting diversification," Intergrain chief executive officer Tress Walmsley said.
Ms Walmsley said there would be restricted access to seed from next year, while a proper stewardship package was developed.
"We want to ensure we have done all the right things before broad-scale commercial production," she said.
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Kingbale is a single gene imi-tolerant variety and has similar agronomic traits to popular hay variety Wintaroo.
"Growers will be able to use this for a pre-emergent herbicide application or for plantback opportunities, following on from other imi-tolerant crops they may have grown the years before," Ms Walmsley said.
There was also a wheat session held at Hart where breeding companies gave updates on other new varieties available for the 2020 season, including Catapult from Australian Grain Technologies, Longreach Nighthawk and RockStar also from Intergrain.
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Alisha Fogden
Journalist at Australian Community Media newspapers since 2007.
Journalist at Australian Community Media newspapers since 2007.
