20 October 2004: Next year will see some familiar names in paddocks around the country as three new wheat varieties bearing the names of Australian explorers begin wide scale trials. The three varieties have been officially named as EGA Gregory, EGA Wylie and EGA Wentworth.

Pacific Seeds' Business Manager, Dr Brian Hare said that the varieties offer a range of different maturities and grain quality classifications combined with good rust disease resistance to provide growers with more options and disease protection in their wheat production.

EGA Gregory is a medium-slow maturity variety with APH classification in Queensland and interim AH classification in Northern and Central NSW.

EGA Wylie has medium maturity with interim AH classification in Queensland and interim APW classification for NSW.

EGA Wentworth has medium-quick maturity with AH classification in Queensland and NSW.

Each of the varieties also has a good combination of disease resistance, particularly to provide acceptable protection from the new strains of rust diseases. In July this year Pacific Seeds was awarded the licence to commercialise the three varieties by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries within the Enterprise Grains Australia joint venture.

2005 will see broad scale, on-farm trials of the varieties under Pacific Seeds' field test trial program, giving producers the opportunity to assess them under local conditions prior to full commercialisation the following year.

Dr Hare said that with a very strong national seed business producing and selling a wide range of open pollinated and hybrid crop types, Pacific Seeds has a strong track record of commercialising new varieties, taking them from the research stage and putting them in farmers' paddocks.

"Pacific Seeds is both proud and pleased to be able to have EGA Wylie, EGA Gregory and EGA Wentworth as the foundation for its entry to the Australian wheat seed business," Dr Hare said.

"For over 40 years, Pacific Seeds has been providing innovative crop varieties to Australian farmers, and with the addition of wheat to our portfolio of crop groups, continues to do so."

The Toowoomba based company currently breeds, produces and markets varieties grain sorghum, forage sorghum, grazing oats, corn, sunflower, pasture and canola.

Caption:- Pacific Seeds' Business Manager, Brian Hare and Minister for Primary Industries, Henry Palaszczuk with grain from one of the newly named wheat varieties launched in Brisbane recently.