The census figures confirm that the area of winter oilseed rape (OSR) harvested in 2024 was approximately 5,000ha lower than in 2023.
This was due to the poor weather of last August.
However, with a more spread out harvest this year, there could potentially be more time to establish a crop for 2025.
August-drilled of rape crops are normally quicker to establish and usually perform better than September-drilled crops, although last year, some crops were drilled around mid-September and performed reasonably well.
Choosing a variety can be tricky and is regularly dependent on what the local merchant has to offer. This year has made growers focus more on variety traits, rather than just yield.
Winter oilseed rape
Resistance to diseases like light leaf spot has been very important this year as opportunities to apply a fungicide were scarce, so choosing varieties with good resistance is a consideration.
Another trait that will be important, given the new rules concerning the use of glyphosate, is pod shatter resistance.
Crops will have to be left to mature naturally in 2025, so having pods that don’t shatter will be very important.
Crops should be sown out at a rate of 60 to 80 seeds/m2 to establish 30-50 plants/m2 in the spring.
Varietal differences in vigour and thousand seed weight, with seedbed conditions and sowing date, must be accounted for.
A combination of poor seedbed conditions and late sowing will require higher (10%) seeding rates.
A recent trend in weed control has been to leave it to Astrokerb to control everything in December/January, while this will control a wide variety of weeds, including resistant blackgrass, it is a very risky strategy.
Field history is important, as pre-emergent weed control is still the most effective option.
Volunteer cereals, cleavers and grass weeds are the main competitive weeds and do the most damage during OSR’s early growth stages.
Growers should apply pre-emergence or early post-emergence treatments. Options include Butisan S/Rapsan 500 (1.5L/ha) or Katamaran Turbo (2-2.5L/ha) within 48 hours after sowing.
Graminicides, such as Falcon and Fusilade, can also be used to control grass weeds.
