Farmers across the nation will have access to a new seed treatment prior to sowing this year with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) officially registering Syngenta's Victrato product for use on wheat and barley.

across the nation

Syngenta has been excited by the performance of Victrato in trials, particularly in terms of its control of crown rot, a disease it said caused $434 million in lost income in the Australian grains industry each year.

Syngenta Australia general manager David Van Ryswyk said the registration would bring immediate benefits to those broadacre cropping communities most affected by the disease.

"Crown rot is often present in crops and characterised by white heads, which only become apparent once the wheat or barley reaches maturity close to harvest," Mr Van Ryswyk said.

The disease can cause yield loss of as much as 50 per cent, along with creating quality issues via higher screenings levels.

He said the seed treatment worked by interrupting the disease lifecycle, protecting the seedling from infection as it emerges.

Katie Slade, the Syngenta Australia product lead for Victrato, said she had high hopes for the product, saying few crop protection products before it had represented such a significant development for the industry.

"Rarely as an industry do we have the opportunity to help growers drastically change the outlook for their crops on a scale like this," Ms Slade said.

She said some farmers had put crown rot in the 'too hard' basket, some dropping durum wheat, particularly susceptible to the disease, from their program for this reason.

"Victrato will even restore confidence to grow sought-after durum wheat in the worst effected regions, enabling farmers to unlock premiums for this key pasta making ingredient."