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Aston Milling Wheat

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  • New premium quality milling wheat with improved autumn yield performance

  • Superior falling numbers and pre-harvest sprout resistance
  • Alternative type for sowing from early May to September
  • Tall, stiff-strawed, awnless cultivar with good standing ability

Description

ASTON is a high yielding alternative wheat cultivar bred by PGG Wrightson Grain (PGW Grain) in New Zealand. It is a mid-season, tall awnless wheat with stiff straw and superior resistance to pre-harvest sprouting and higher falling numbers compared with Discovery. It produces smaller grain than Discovery.

YIELD

ASTON produces a strong performance. In FAR CPT autumn trials, its performance is comparable to Discovery, and exceeds that of other premium wheats, aside from at Winchester. ASTON has a facultative habit and in FAR (CPT 1) spring trials 2022-23 its performance was comparable to Cochise and Discovery.

ASTON is a very high yielding autumn milling wheat. Therefore, particular attention to nitrogen management is required to ensure protein milling specifications are met. The 2024/25 nitrogen trial demonstrated yield and protein were optimal at 250-300 kg N/ha total (applied plus soil). The trial will be repeated 2025/26 season.

Aston data
Aston data

CPT Aston (KMW2206) grain quality (2023-24)

Canterbury (Autumn)

Canterbury (Spring)
Kernel weight (1000 seed weight) 42 38
Test Weight (kg/hl) 77 75
Protein content (%) (N% x 5.7) 12.6 13.3
Screenings (%) 0.8 0.7
Falling number (sec) 397 426

TIME OF DRILLING

ASTON is an alternative or spring wheat cultivar with a wide  drilling window. Recommended drilling time is from early May through to September.
 

SEED RATE AND TILLERING CHARACTERISTICS

Month Planted

Typical heading dates for Aston in Canterbury
Late May Mid – Late November
Late June Late November
September Mid December

Aston is an intermediate maturing cultivar at harvest.

SEED RATE AND TILLERING CHARACTERISTICS

ASTON has a good tillering ability and target plant populations should be decided in accordance with the chart shown. A PGW Grain sowing date and rate trial was conducted in the 2024/25 season and confirmed these seed rates were optimum for maximum yield.

 

SOIL TYPE, ROTATION AND GEOGRAPHY

ASTON has performed well across all Canterbury regions. It has more shedding resistance than Discovery so is more suitable 
for locations with extreme winds around maturity. It is not recommended as a second-year wheat.
 
 

DISEASE RESISTANCE

ASTON has a variable disease resistance profile, being mostly resistant to leaf rust, adult stripe rust and powdery mildew and is moderately susceptible to Septoria leaf blotch and seedling stripe rust. In the 2024/25 PGW Grain fungicide trial, average fungicide response was 1.6-3.0 t/ha. Considering this disease profile, fungicide programmes should be tailored to target Septoria and seedling stripe rust. The fungicide trial is being repeated for the 2025/26 season and should provide further information. Please contact your local PGW Representative for site-specific recommendations.

Disease

PGW Grain disease nursery ratings
(9 highly resistant, 1 highly susceptible)
Stripe rust 5
Leaf rust 8
Septoria leaf blotch 5
Powdery mildew 8
Fusarium head blight 6

STRAW STRENGTH AND HEIGHT 

ASTON is a tall cultivar with good standing power. An adequate plant growth regulator (PGR) programme is recommended for this cultivar especially for early sowings. In the PGW Grain 2023/24 PGR trial, greatest height reductions and minimised lodging 
risks were observed under the robust programmes (Cycocel + Moddus Evo combinations). The actual programme is determined by a combination of sowing date, seed rate, nitrogen use, crop thickness and yield potential. As with any cultivar, do not apply if the crop is under any form of stress. Please contact your local PGW Representative for site specific recommendations.
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