Titan AX will be the first barley variety to be released by Australian Grain Technologies (AGT) as part of the CoAXium® Barley Production System, offering tolerance to Aggressor® (a Group 1, Quizalofop-P-Ethyl) herbicide.

“AGT is proud to be bringing this technology to growers in Australia. We are especially happy that Australian barley growers will be the first in the world to take advantage of the benefits of CoAXium® barley with Titan AX .” Dr Tristan Coram, AGT Head of Science and Business Development said.

In May, AGT announced a partnership with Albaugh LLC and Sipcam Australia to launch the CoAXium® Barley Production System, involving Aggressor® herbicide and tolerant barley varieties. The system offers growers a new tool for control of tough annual grass weeds including brome grass, barley grass, wild oats, susceptible ryegrass, and ALS (Group 2) resistant weeds.

The system provides more crop rotation freedom due to lack of soil residue, offering an alternative to Clearfield® technology. Importantly, Aggressor® herbicide applied according to the label does not result in residues in barley grain, thus no market access issues have been identified.

AGT testing of this technology, discovered over a decade ago, has demonstrated excellent crop safety and performance across a range of environments. To support this new technology, a new website has been launched: www.coaxium.com.au, where more details can be found, including the CoAXium® Barley Stewardship Guideline that all users of this technology will need to be aware of.

“Titan AX is agronomically similar to popular variety Compass” according to AGT barley breeder, Paul Telfer.

“It’s a plant type that particularly lends itself to low-medium or Mallee style environments where early vigour and longer straw is preferred, and where lodging is less of an issue. However, our data suggests that Titan AX performs consistently well across a range of growing conditions and therefore should be a good option for all growers that see value in tolerance to Aggressor® herbicide.” Mr Telfer said.

Titan AX will be initially released as a Barley/Feed grade variety, however AGT expect to nominate Titan AX as a malt quality candidate with Barley Australia in 2023.

Titan AX is now available through AGT Affiliates and local retailers for the 2023 season.