New early season canola variety hits the market

DG Avon TT is an Open Pollinated (OP), Triazine Tolerant (TT) short-season variety developed in Australia.

Opting for an early-season canola variety can be a sensible approach to mitigate risks stemming from potential moisture stress and the need to accommodate shorter growing periods.

This is particularly the case during El Niño, which can bring about uncertainties for the upcoming season, including unpredictable weather patterns.

Kate Light, Senior Canola Breeder at Nutrien Ag Solutions^® for the Dyna-Gro Canola program, which develops canola varieties, from its lab in Horsham and in the field, said DG Avon TT was first tested in Nutrien’s research and development yield trials in 2019 and it entered the National Variety Trials (NVTs) in 2022 with great success.

“This year’s NVT results in low rainfall are outstanding,” Kate said. “It’s much better than Bonito and Stingray in majority of trials so far.”

Kate said DG Avon TT was initially developed as a potential hybrid parent, however the team recognised its commercial potential as a very early OP TT in its own right.

“Avon was first developed by cross in 2015 and trialled and selected in disease nurseries and for agronomic type and good oil quality,” Kate said.

It stood out due to its very early and determinant flowering, which make it particularly suitable for low rainfall areas and moderate rainfall areas in drier years.

Kate said it would suit the Mallee of Victoria and SA, west of the Newell Highway in NSW and the low rainfall belt of Western Australia. She said it would also be a good choice for a potential dry season in moderate rainfall areas.

“Growers have a tendency to make a late change in their canola plantings at the end of April or beginning of May. This has a real fit for this,” she said.

Kate said there hadn’t been an early TT OP canola released in Australia for 10 years, so believed there was a need for it in the marketplace.

DG Avon TT is categorised in the blackleg AC resistance group and MR (bare seed). It has never shown any seed pod shatter, has demonstrated a high harvest index and excellent harvestability. Trials have indicated its yield adaptability is 0.5–2 tonnes/ha zones.

Kate said DG Avon TT was very similar to the old variety Stubby, with a short stature that made it easier to handle in harvesters.

At Temora, David Armitage, Technical Services Manager proprietary products Nutrien Ag Solutions, agreed and said the ability to direct head the seed at harvest would be of big interest for farmers in low rainfall areas.

“It stands up well so it doesn’t lodge and it feeds into the header very well,” he said.

He has overseen trials of the seed in recent years and it stood out to him as a nice compact variety that grew uniformly, without a lot of shorts and talls.

Nutrien Seed Category Manager and Seednet Regional Manager David Clegg said farmers can now start ordering DG Avon TT seed from their local Nutrien or CRT stores for the 2024 growing season.

“We expect to have good availability of Avon seed, which is being grown in Victoria,” David said.

TT OP seeds in the Dyna-Gro range are all named after rivers, in this case the Avon River in Western Australia.