Sunmax

Wheat
Sunmax
Variety fact sheet – Northern Zone
Variety snapshot
Long season maturity, best
suited to mid April plantings
APH quality classification
in the Northern Zone
Good stem and stripe
rust resistance
Acid soils tolerance
Tolerance to RLN (P. thornei )
High test weights with a
moderate screenings risk
Breeders comments
With an APH classification and slow maturity, Sunmax is one of the best planting
options when there is an early break in the season. Choosing to grow Sunmax will
help utilise early soil moisture, avoid frost damage later in the season, and lift overall
farm yields and profit in northern NSW and southern Queensland.
Sunmax is a long season spring wheat, slower in maturity than Sunbri and Sunzell
but slightly quicker than Sunbrook. When planted in mid to late April it has yielded
significantly higher than similar maturing varieties in northern NSW NVT and AGT trials.
It has an excellent level of stripe rust resistance based on major genes and multiple
minor APR genes. It also has useful levels of tolerance and resistance to other major
diseases including crown rot and root lesion nematodes (P. thornei).
Being a long season variety, it is critical that Sunmax is sown in the mid to late April
planting window to minimise screening risk associated with terminal drought stress.
Seed Availability
PBR and EPR
Commercial quantities of Sunmax
Sunmax is protected by Plant Breeders
may be available through AGT
Rights (PBR) and all production (except
Affiliates, or your local retailer.
seed saved for planting) is liable to an
Please consult the AGT website
End Point Royalty (EPR), which funds
for AGT Affiliate contact details.
future plant breeding. Sunmax growers
Sunmax is able to be traded between
growers upon the completion of
a License Agreement as part of
AGTs Seed Sharing Initiative.
will be subject to a Growers License
Agreement that acknowledges that
an EPR of $3.50/tonne + GST has
to be paid on all production other
than seed saved for planting.
Yield of Sunmax versus control varieties in North East NSW early sown trial set
Grain yield as % of site average (NVT long term MET analysis 2011-2015)
120
115
110
105
100
95
90
85
Sunmax#
EGA Wedgetail
Suntime
Sunzell
* The majority of these trials were planted in mid to late April.
#
Analysis based on 1 year of data.
Yield of Sunmax versus control varieties in early sown trial set
Grain yield as % of Sunzell (AGT long term MET analysis, 2012-2015)
Central
Queensland
Southern
Queensland
North East
New South Wales
North West
New South Wales
Central
New South Wales
Sunmax
101
105
107
102
101
EGA Wedgetail
98
92
86
80
85
Sunbrook
97
98
93
90
91
Sunzell
100
100
100
100
100
Suntime
101
107
109
112
107
Mean Yield (t/ha)
3.32
2.77
4.0
2.99
5.47
* The majority of these trials were planted between in late April to mid May.
Maturity (heading date) of Sunmax versus control varieties
8 Oct
Increased
Heat Risk
Heading Date
at a range of planting dates at Narrabri in 2015
28 Sep
18 Sep
8 Sep
Increased
Frost Risk
29 Aug
19 Aug
9 Aug
16 Apr
26 Apr
6 May
16 May
26 May
5 Jun
15 Jun
Sowing Date
Sunmax
EGA Wedgetail
Suntime
Sunzell
Sunbrook
Disease, agronomic and grain quality ratings for Sunmax and control varieties
Sunmax
EGA Wedgetail
Sunbrook
Suntime
Sunzell
Stem Rust
RMR
MRMS
MRMS
R
MR
Stripe Rust
RMR
MS
MRMS
RMR
MS
Leaf Rust
MS
MS
MS
MS
MS
Yellow Leaf Spot
MS
MSS
S
MSS
MSS
RLN (P. thornei) Tolerance
MT
MII
MTMI
TMT
MT
Crown Rot
MSS
MSS
MS
MS
MSS
Acid Soil Tolerance
TMT
TMT
TMT
TMT
TMT
Maturity
Late
Very Late
Late
Mid-late
Mid-late
Plant Height
Medium
Short
Tall
Tall
Tall
Lodging Resistance
MRMS
MR
MSS
MRMS
MRMS
Northern Quality Classification
APH
AH
APH
APH
AH
Sprouting Tolerance
MII
I
I
MII
I
Black Point Resistance
MRMS
MS
MS
MS
S
Screening Risk
Moderate
Low-Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Test Weight
High
Moderate
High
High
High
RResistant
MR Moderately Resistant
MS Moderately Susceptible
SSusceptible
TTolerant
MT Moderately Tolerant
MI
Moderately Intolerant
IIntolerant
VI
Very Intolerant
Source / NSW DPI Winter Crop
Variety Sowing Guide 2016, NVT
and AGT data.
Contact details
Kerrie Gleeson, Marketing Manager, Northern
0427 958 259
Meiqin Lu, Wheat Breeder
0428 856 612
End Point Royalty Office
(08) 8313 6810
agtbreeding.com.au
Disclaimer / The information contained in this brochure is based on knowledge and understanding at
the time of writing. Growers should be aware of the need to regularly consult with their advisors on local
conditions and currency of information.