The latest edition of the NSW Winter Crop Variety Sowing Guide is now available online and in hard copy.

It is designed to assist grain growers and their advisers in making informed decisions to achieve more productive and profitable winter crops in 2025.

NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Peter Matthews said the guide has been updated with the latest research and development results from both departmental and industry-funded programs.

“This year, growers have an additional 16 cereal varieties and nine canola varieties to choose from,” Mr Matthews said.

“While variety yield performance is a key feature of new varieties, it is crucial for growers to compare these new varieties with those currently grown to ensure local adaptation.

“Some new cereal varieties offer improvements in disease resistance and enhanced tolerances to soil constraints, such as acidity and sodicity.

“The latest canola varieties also provide growers with new weed management options, with newer hybrid varieties offering dual herbicide tolerance.

“This will allow growers more flexibility in controlling problem weeds and rotating herbicide groups to prevent weed resistance.

“Although no new pulse varieties are released for NSW in 2025, performance data for varieties from 2023 and 2024 shows they continue to be among the highest-yielding and best adapted to local growing conditions.”

Mr Matthews said the NSW Winter Crop Variety Sowing Guide includes data from the National Variety Trials, an initiative of the Grains Research and Development Corporation, which conducts comparative crop variety testing with standardised trial management.

This program provides valuable varietal information and comparisons on a regional scale.

“The aim of this guide is to help grain growers and their advisers make better cropping decisions, leading to more productive and profitable winter crops, ensuring the sustainability of farm businesses in NSW,” Mr Matthews said.

“Variable seasonal weather conditions, diseases such as stripe rust, and sharply rising crop input costs, such as fertilisers, all contribute to the need for careful planning and management.

“Growers should also focus on crop agronomy and best farming practices to maximise the potential of the upcoming season.

“In particular, cereal growers should be vigilant about disease risks, such as fusarium crown rot. 2024 crop surveys indicated high levels of fusarium crown rot in many wheat paddocks, making alternative crops important for affected areas.”

Mr Matthews emphasised that growers should be prepared with varieties of different maturities to respond promptly when sowing rainfall arrives.

“The recent rainfall in the north of the state contrasts sharply with the continuing dry conditions in much of southern NSW,” Mr Matthews said.

“Crop nutrition for canola will remain crucial, especially following the high yields achieved in many cereal crops last year.

“Paddocks to be sown with canola are expected to have low nitrogen levels, making early attention to crop nutrition vital.

“State production records for chickpeas, faba beans and lentils were set last year due to the availability of better-performing pulse varieties.

“Growers are encouraged to continue selecting locally adapted, high-yielding varieties with strong disease resistance, particularly against major diseases such as Ascochyta in chickpeas and chocolate spot in faba beans.”

The 2025 NSW Winter Crop Variety Sowing Guide is now available to download from the NSW DPIRD website, and hard copies can be obtained from local agribusiness stores, Local Land Services or NSW DPIRD offices.

To download a copy, visit: https://bit.ly/3QXFbW3

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Tuesday, 6th May 2025

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