Avoca

Avoca has been released in recognition of the growing need for slower maturing milling wheat varieties suited to higher rainfall environments, offering growers in Victoria’s western district and north-east, and SA’s lower south-east more marketing flexibility at harvest, combined with highly competitive yields and a good disease resistance package.

Avoca is a slow-very slow maturing AH quality variety, reaching head emergence over a week later than Rockstar and almost a week earlier than Stockade, and is well suited to high yield potential environments characterised by longer seasons. Both AGT and NVT data have shown that in early season trials, Avoca has produced competitive yields relative to mid-slow maturing milling grade varieties like Rockstar, Genie and LRPB Trojan, while offering disease resistance advantages over these varieties (better powdery mildew and septoria tritici versus Genie, better stripe rust, powdery mildew and septoria tritici versus LRPB Trojan, better stripe rust and powdery mildew over Rockstar). Generally, Avoca has yielded the same or less than the feed quality variety LRPB Beaufort, however if price premiums associated with milling grades are of interest then Avoca is a great alternative.

Avoca has a relatively compact plant canopy, which may be of value in high yield potential environments, where taller varieties can be more prone to lodging.