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Know How / Oilseed rape / Crop management

Once it’s up and away, oilseed rape needs careful management and the right nutrition throughout the growing season to ensure it fulfills its potential. See what can be done to maximise output, put a lid on growing costs and keep the crop photosynthesising as it reaches maturity and fills its seeds.

Case studies

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ARABLE

Grower improves fungicide use and compaction with helicopter

A helicopter is not the standard piece of farm kit to be stored in a machinery shed, but Canadian grain producer Wade McAllister plans to combine his passion for farming…

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

Grower's soils improve and inputs reduce with regen approach

Hampshire grower David Miller has seen the organic matter of his chalky light soils rise by nearly 1% over the past four years by the use of cover crops and…

OILSEED RAPE

Derby OSR grower attracted to Hear varieties by premium

Robert Holmes has turned to growing high erucic acid rapeseed (Hear) on his Derbyshire farm, encouraged by a healthy price premium and its easiness to grow, while he has just…

OILSEED RAPE

OSR makes a comeback with new drill and companion crop

Andrew and Ruth Spratt are back growing oilseed rape after a four-year gap armed with a new drill and using companion crops on their Gloucestershire farm to ward off pest…

OILSEED RAPE

Ex-beef farmer reveals how he grew award-winning OSR crop

Tucked into the south-west corner of Scotland in an area dominated by livestock, lies the Lawson’s arable farm which yielded a surprise 6.2t/ha crop of oilseed rape.  What started out…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Seaweed extract helps grower cut costs and improve soils

Breton grower Fabien Bocher is using a seaweed-based soil biostimulant to help slash his fuel and fertiliser costs, and his soils are becoming more workable and healthy after 10 years…

Practical advice

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PEST MANAGEMENT

How to introduce SFI 2023's no insecticide option

After another delay, applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2023 are due to finally open in mid-September, with the new no use of insecticide action being one of the…

OILSEED RAPE

Study shows growers can cut oilseed rape pest damage

Agro-ecological and genetic solutions are being examined to overcome pest problems in oilseed rape. Rothamsted Research is doing work on increasing populations of natural enemies as part of a Europe-wide…

ARABLE

How grower adds flexibility with disease-tolerant OSR

Changing weather patterns and the opportunity to reduce fungicide spray inputs were behind Lincolnshire grower Nick Wright’s decision to grow the sclerotinia-tolerant winter oilseed rape variety PT303. Having once experienced…

OILSEED RAPE

How to get oilseed rape crop inputs right this spring

Striking the right balance between high input costs and fluctuating market prospects is the challenge for most oilseed rape growers this spring. Crops should be assessed for their canopy size…

SOILS

3 steps to take to reduce reliance on artificial fertiliser

Farmers are seeking ways to cut artificial fertiliser rates as prices skyrocket and one Canadian expert has developed a three-step approach to achieve this. Cropping is currently based on classic…

OILSEED RAPE

Oilseed rape grower uses free disease test for light leaf spot

Britain’s largest farming group Velcourt is using free disease testing on its oilseed rape crops to finely tune fungicide treatments to protect against the yield-damaging and hard-to-identify disease light leaf…

Insights

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VARIETY SELECTION

Why OSR vigour and late disease score is key to 2023 yields

Oilseed rape varieties with good early vigour and resistance to late season disease have been the top performers in Agrii’s variety plots in Lincolnshire. Like many areas of the UK,…

PEST MANAGEMENT

Survey gives pointers on how to successfully grow OSR

An average 85% of oilseed rape crops are predicted to reach harvest, but some farmers, especially in East Anglia, are feeling the pain. Although the average is down on last…

OILSEED RAPE

How OSR variety choice helps crops survive flea beetle

Simply selecting the top yielding OSR varieties on the AHDB Recommended List is not always the best approach in high cabbage stem flea beetle areas, according to Agrii trials and…

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

How OSR growers will benefit from two new disease genes

New resistance genes for clubroot and phoma will offer growers better varietal control of these two costly diseases in oilseed rape crops. Both are welcome additions as existing genes have…

VARIETY SELECTION

Stem Health label helps identify best disease-resistant OSR

A new Stem Health score is set to help growers identify the best oilseed rape varieties to grow with good resistance against three key yield-sapping stem diseases. Limagrain arable technical…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Why farmers need to do their sums before altering 2023 N rates

Modest reductions in nitrogen fertiliser applications of 20-30kg/ha are being advised on most feed wheat crops for the 2023 growing season, with growers being urged to do their sums before…

PEST MANAGEMENT

New advice on volunteers for tackling flea beetle in OSR

Early results suggest that cultivating oilseed rape stubbles immediately after harvest may reduce the adult cabbage stem flea beetle population significantly. This is according to the latest findings from the…

CROP MANAGEMENT

3 technologies to address arable’s biggest challenges

Innovative new technology hold the potential to combat some of the biggest agronomic challenges arable farmers face in yield stagnation, blackgrass control and cabbage stem flea beetle attack. Farmers Weekly…

CROP MANAGEMENT

AHDB variety trials reveal wheat pest and true cost of clubroot

The AHDB Recommended List trials generate a lot of additional data that isn’t in the variety lists, and the latest batch of numbers reveal the cost of clubroot disease in…

OILSEED RAPE

Why OSR growers are optimistic despite high-cost climate

Oilseed rape growers are optimistic about the crop's on-farm performance, despite the higher growing costs and market volatility caused by recent world events. Research carried out by Farmers Weekly in…

CROP MANAGEMENT

3 key Rothamsted research areas and how farmers will benefit

A strong link between research and practice has never been more vital. We talk to leading researchers and independent crop consultants to see how science at the world's oldest research…

NUTRITION AND FERTILISER

Should farms sell or chop straw with fertiliser prices high?

The value of straw, whether for power stations or traditional forage and bedding markets remains, buoyant, and many growers will be looking to take advantage of that. However, with high…

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