Narrabri

The I. A. Watson Wheat Research Centre at Narrabri is the main field testing site for crops being developed by the University of Sydney. This was established as the Northwest Wheat Research Institute by the NSW State Wheat Improvement Committee in 1968 and the University of Sydney was invited to manage it.

The Breeding program at the Centre has produced a large number of rust-resistant wheat varieties in the Prime Hard and Australian Hard marketing classes. The Narrabri plains allow the plants to reach their best potential and assist the selection process with yield and disease trials.

In recent times the focus of the research conducted at the Institute has changed. The major wheat breeding program was transferred to AGT who are still based on site and the Institute’s research has concentrated more on pre-breeding aims for cereal breeding in North-West NSW.

Pulse breeding has been occurring at the Institute since 2000 with these crops being bred as options for local farmers in their rotation plans.