It took 10 years to develop, but for wheat farmers across Australia it's worth the wait.

A new, natural product developed by Charles Sturt University (CSU) that has shown it can boost wheat yields by up to 25 per cent has been released by Seed Grain & Biotechnology (SGB) Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Wesfarmers Landmark.

It was developed from a new species of fungus, Penicillium radicum, isolated 10 years ago by CSU researchers from the root of a wheat plant discovered in a paddock near Wagga Wagga.

The first package of the commercial product, PR70 Release, will be presented tomorrow, Tuesday 15 May, to the researchers at CSU's School of Wine & Food Sciences at Wagga Wagga.

The presentation will be the culmination of a decade of work by CSU's Associate Professor Terry Harden, former CSU doctorate student Melanie Whitelaw and Dr Greg Bender from SGB.

"This naturally produced fungus could be worth millions of dollars to the agricultural industry," the Dean of CSU's Faculty of Science & Agriculture, Professor Jim Pratley, said.

PR70 Release, applied to seeds immediately before sowing, promotes growth in wheat crops by extracting valuable phosphates otherwise bound up in the soil.

According to SGB's site manager Peter Grieve the results of the majority of field trials in Victoria, NSW, SA and WA last year were extremely positive.

"The fungus was found to increase wheat yields in various trials by an average of 10 to 14 per cent, and in some cases up to 25 per cent," Mr Grieve said.

However, he said PR70 Release is not a replacement for phosphate fertiliser.

In 1990, SGB received a $50 000 Department of Industry, Science and Tourism grant and collaborated with CSU to investigate the development of a product for coating seeds to promote crop growth.

CSU researchers found a strain of a previously unknown species of Penicillium fungus, named by the CSIRO as Penicillium radicum.

Following CSU research, it was identified as the most promising for product development.

This formed the basis of a PhD project for Melanie Whitelaw, now a lecturer in the School of Wine & Food Sciences at CSU, which focused on the action of the fungus in stimulating plant growth and increased yield.

A patent for the product has been acquired in Australia, Canada and the USA.

Although a similar fungus is marketed in Canada, PR70 Release is unique and naturally occurring in Australia, making it suitable for Australian soils and climate.

Mr Grieve said the product was released on a small scale to farmers in Mingenew, WA, last month following their encouraging response to the success of last year's trials.

SGB hopes to go into large scale production after further trials this year.

"The future of PR70 Release will be assured as demand for the product increases, and this will partly depend on results from this year's crop," he said.

Professor Harden added that the product had potential for application on other crops, but at this stage was still in development.

Tomorrow, Tuesday 15 May, the first package of PR70 Release will be presented to Professor Harden and Dr Whitelaw at the Wagga Wagga Campus by Mr Grieve and SGB's fungal production officer Peter Klein.