Arable Farming - OSR May 2021

OI LS E 28 SP ED pa E R g OS es o CIA AP R c f de L E on dic ten ate t d

June 2021

OILSEED RAPE SPECIAL

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MARKET FORCES Are OSR economics set to trump agronomics?

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CROP MANAGEMENT Lessons from double YEN success Pages 12-13

For more details call Premium Crops on 02392 632883 BEATING CSFB a division of Cefetra Ltd

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Innovation in action for progressive arable farmers AF OSR p1 Cover TR KH MC.indd 1

07/05/2021 10:52

June 14-18

Shining a light on weed management, join us from June 14 to kick off a week long event of interactive content, masterclasses, insight and advice to provide you with invaluable technical know-how and practical solutions to boost your weed control toolkit.

June, 15 - Weed Workshop Tune in to watch a stellar line up of panellists showcase the valuable role of integrated pest management (IPM). With highlights including a resistance management masterclass, to taking a hard look at the challenges in launching and protecting chemistry for sustainable weed control, the day will offer up technical know-how and practical solutions.

June, 16 - New innovation: maximise long-term control

June, 17 - Crop it Like it’s Hot EXTRA: Weed control special

Hear from two farmers about successful black-grass and Italian ryegrass control using Proclus (aclonifen) on their farm.

Join us for a special weed control episode of Crop It Like It’s Hot.

Also hear from leading weed biologists about how to maintain the long-term activity of herbicides.

Learn about the different modes of action, how to build a diverse programme and prevent resistance.

Alice Dyer, journalist by day, farmer by night, will be joined by a stellar line up of guest experts from BASF to discuss a range of weed control topics and offer growers a chance to gain handy tips to implement on farm.

Event partners Technical supporter:

Event supporter:

Register your interest at croptecshow.com/AWW OSR_21_IFC.indd 1 AF_weedweek_fp - Content.indd 1

07/05/2021 13:40 07/05/2021 13:37:47

CONTENTS

JUNE 2021 OILSEED RAPE SPECIAL

In this issue of

12

Business 6

14

Is the price right for an OSR comeback?

Firm prices and good market prospects might tempt growers back into the crop Finding a high value niche in a commodity market How one business is adding value to OSR in the Scottish Highlands

Technical 9

12 15 16 18 20 22

Maintaining OSR progress with Clearfield A move to Clearfield has boosted weed control without compromising performance on one Yorkshire farm Award-winning Lincolnshire recipe defies the CSFB challenge A double Oilseed YEN award winner shares his ingredients for success A growing focus on stem health Incidences of a secondary light leaf spot stem infection are on the rise National study confirms less CSFB damage this season Early results from the 2021 National CSFB Management Study confirm a reduction in crop damage this season Purpose-built to perform A whole genome approach is enabling one OSR breeder to develop varieties with underlying genetic strength Sustainable stem canker resistance The RlmS trait brings a new source of phoma stem canker resistance to the market, plus news of a breakthrough sclerotinia tolerance trait Breeding solutions to boost oilseed rape reliability Why innovation in OSR breeding is far from being at a standstill

Alternative oilseeds 25

Meeting the demand for home-grown soya Is it time for an expansion in UK soya production?

16 20

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3 06/05/2021 16:31

a word from the

editor

Contacts Group Editor – Arable Teresa Rush 01787 282 822 teresa.rush@arablefarming.com Senior Arable Specialist Marianne Curtis 07815 003 236 marianne.curtis@arablefarming.com Arable Technical Specialist Alice Dyer 07966 445 458 alice.dyer@fginsight.com Machinery Editor James Rickard 01772 799 496 james.rickard@arablefarming.com Production Editor Rik Magliola 01772 799 456 rik.magliola@arablefarming.com Picture Editor Theresa Eveson 01772 799 445 theresa.eveson@arablefarming.com Account Manager Jane Newton 01948 780 783 jane.newton@arablefarming.com Account Manager Mark Jackson 01322 449 624 mark.jackson@arablefarming.com Account Manager Chris Knowles 01772 799 550 chris.knowles@arablefarming.com Head of Commercial Solutions Mike Hartley 01772 799 532 mike.hartley@arablefarming.com Advertising Production Justine Sumner 01772 799 437 justine.sumner@arablefarming.com For circulation queries, to request a copy or subscribe, please contact Emma Williamson 01772 799 452 emma.williamson@arablefarming.com Subscriptions Contact: 03303 330 056 help@subscribe.farmers-guardian.com

O

ne of my early morning walks with the dog takes me through a good-looking field of oilseed rape, with an even canopy and stronglybranched individual plants; it looks well set to deliver a decent crop. Sadly, a neighbouring field is looking distinctly more scrappy and therein lies one of the main challenges facing OSR growers – the risk that their considerable upfront investment in seed and inputs will not deliver a profitable crop come harvest, if a crop at all.

In recent seasons growers have judged the financial risks associated with OSR to have outweighed the benefits, with the result that the UK rapeseed area has dropped back to not much more than 300,000 hectares for harvest 2021, from 750,000ha in 2012.

But with old crop priced at close to £450/tonne as I write and new crop prices opening the season at above £400/t for the first time ever, is the stage set for an oilseed rape revival? There is a way to go until the combines move in and the cold, dry spring has undone much of the good work done in favourable autumn establishment conditions, and under reduced cabbage stem flea beetle pressure. But there is an incentive to get crops through to harvest in good nick and do some careful maths on next year’s rotation. Our business feature (p6-8) looking at market prospects aims to help with those calculations.

Advances While growers may have walked away from OSR, plant breeders have not, as our features on two of the leading breeding programmes reveal (p18 and p22-24). As does the introduction of new varieties, available for planting this autumn, carrying new traits in the form of sclerotinia tolerance and a new genetic source of phoma resistance (p20-21). These

advances will help to boost the resilience of oilseed rape crops going forward and breeders promise more developments are in the pipeline.

As always, we’ve sought out experience from commercial farms. We find out why a first-ever crop failure last season has not deterred a Lincolnshire Oilseed YEN double award winner from growing OSR (p1213) and hear how a switch to Clearfield varieties is helping maintain yield progress on one Yorkshire unit.

And for those of you still keen to identify an alternative oilseed break, we assess the prospects for home-grown soya.

We hope this special issue of Arable Farming will help inform your decision-making, wherever you are on your OSR journey.

18

© AgriBriefing 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The contents of Arable Farming are subject to reproduction in information storage and retrieval systems. ISSN 0269-6797

22

Arable Farming, AgriBriefing, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ

www.croptecshow.com November 24-25, 2021

4 AF OSR p4 Leader TR MC RM.indd 1

Origination by Farmers Guardian, AgriBriefing, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9NZ. Printed by Precision Colour Printing, Halesfield 1, Stirchley, Telford TF7 4QQ. No responsibility can be accepted by Arable Farming for opinions expressed by contributors.

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 15:57

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05/05/2021 16/03/2021 17:31 15:19

OILSEED RAPE PROSPECTS

Is the price right for an O Economics might trump agronomics when it comes to planting oilseed rape this year as strong prices and good prospects tempt growers back to the crop. Cedric Porter reports.

T

he British countryside has become a lot less yellow over the last few years. In 2012, UK farmers harvested more than 750,000 hectares of oilseed rape. This harvest they will probably cut a crop of not much more than 300,000ha.

6 AF OSR p6 7 8 Cedric TR MC RM.indd 2

The loss of neonicotinoid seed treatments has hit yields hard, with many growers reluctantly giving the crop up despite a strengthening market. However, this year might be the time when some decide the economic gains from the crop are greater than possible agronomic losses.

Old crop delivered prices are above £440/tonne (April 26, 2021) and new crop prices are opening the season at above £400/t for the first time ever.

Even August 2022 prices on the French Matif exchange are the equivalent of more than £350/t.

Condition The 2021 crop looks to be in better condition than its 2020 equivalent. At the end of March, AHDB estimated 84% of the national winter OSR crop was in excellent (12%), good (29%) or fair (43%) condition. That

contrasted with 37% in either poor or very poor condition at the same point in the 2019/20 growing season. The crop will have been affected by the dry spring, but it appears to be in better condition to weather any dryness than last year’s crop was.

The good news for British growers is the market is not just supported by tight UK supply, but a bullish global market.

Vegetable oil prices have increased by nearly 90% over the last year, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s price index,

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 14:09

PROSPECTS OILSEED RAPE The UK oilseed production deficit is expected to continue into 2022 and beyond.

n OSR comeback? outstripping the 25% growth in general food commodities and cereal prices.

Cold and dry conditions in major European and Canadian oilseed growing regions have affected crops, while there is also demand for non-soya or palm oils because of concerns over their sustainability.

The latest US Department of Agriculture estimates show global oilseed production up 3.3% on last year, with usage up 1.1% and stocks down 10.9% on the year and by a quarter over the last two years.

The UK market dynamics are

even more favourable, according to Owen Cligg, trading manager at United Oilseeds.

“The UK may only produce a little more than half its oilseed requirement this year, resulting in strong demand for what is harvested. That deficit looks like continuing into 2022 and beyond,” he says.

United Oilseeds estimates the UK OSR planted area for harvest in 2021 is 310,000ha, but that will be the area low point. Strong prices and greater experience of growing in a post-neonic world could result

The UK may only produce a little more than half its oilseed requirement this year OWEN CLIGG in plantings of 425,000ha for the 2022 harvest, with 500,000ha planted for harvest in 2023.

“There is plenty of room in

the market for that extra crop over the next two or three years,” says Mr Cligg.

“There was a 420,000t shortfall in UK OSR production last year when yields averaged just 2.8t/ha, but the deficit could almost double this year X

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7 06/05/2021 14:09

OILSEED RAPE PROSPECTS to 815,000t if there is a return to long-term average yields of 3.5t/ ha. We are predicting that the increase in plantings for the 2022 harvest could reduce the shortfall to 500,000t, while a further increase in plantings for 2023 could mean UK production matches usage.”

Mr Cligg adds that while the market prospects for OSR look favourable for this harvest and beyond, there is no guarantee of elevated prices.

“The market dynamic can change quite rapidly, with the possibility of a reduction in global demand of oil for biofuel, which could impact on prices.

At current prices, it is certainly worth growers looking at locking in sales and value for at least some of their 2021 crop, while some may even want to agree prices for their 2022 crop.”

The condition of the 2021

When the crop does go to plan and reasonably well, it is difficult to beat financially and in terms of a good break

OSR crop is variable, according to Ben Burrows, agronomist and partner with Crop Management Partners operating in southern England.

“Some has looked extremely well all the way through, some looks okay and the remainder has struggled,” he says, adding that the planted area is significantly down in his patch, with growers taking a break from the crop.

“Some crops came through winter well before going backwards due to cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) larvae.

Well-rooted “I don’t think the dry spring is having a hugely detrimental effect provided the crop is well-rooted and nitrogen was applied early.”

He expects that if OSR prices remain high then more growers will want to give the crop another go after dropping it for a year or two. However, he urges growers to return to OSR with their eyes fully open to the risks.

BEN BURROWS Predicted state of UK OSR industry 2020-23

Oilseed rape still offers good profit margins, provided growers are aware of the risks says Ben Burrows.

“Do not only assess whether you should be growing OSR, but whether you are prepared financially and mentally for the possibility of crop loss at any point – unfortunately we are at that level of risk with the crop.”

He adds that at £400/t, a mediocre crop can still be profitable, but for some growers even achieving a mediocre crop can be a struggle.

“I would just urge people to consider the level of risk they are willing to take as, for all of the crop’s good points, there are still significant risks involved. However, when the crop does go to plan and reasonably well, it is difficult to beat financially and in terms of a good break.”

There are no single alternative CSFB control strategies that can be relied on, says Mr Burrows, but planting early before flea beetle migration has taken place or later after migration when there is good soil moisture or

UK OSR crop area 2012-23

SOURCE: United Oilseeds

2.5

800

2

SOURCE: United Oilseeds

700

Units in thousands

Units in millions

the prospect of rain helps.

Drilling with low disturbance and leaving some stubble may also help, but so can preparing a cleaner seedbed if it allows the crop to get a good start.

“For me, the jury is still out on whether companion cropping is actually providing benefits in terms of flea beetle, although I am certain it provides benefits more widely, but the advantage of planting OSR either into or with companions is that if the OSR doesn’t make it, you still have a cover crop in the ground which you can make decisions on from there.”

There are other threats growers should be aware of when returning to OSR, he adds, including cabbage root fly, especially in crops drilled in early August. Clubroot remains a risk in early-planted crops, although it can be managed by planting clubroot-resistant varieties.

1.5 1 0.5 0

-0.5 -1 Harvest year 2020

Harvest year Harvest year Harvest year 2021 (predicted) 2022 (predicted) 2023 (predicted)

Harvested area (hectares)

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Tonnes produced

UK usage

Deficit/surplus

600 500 400 300 200 100 0

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 (Predicted plantings)

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 14:10

AGRONOMY OILSEED RAPE

FULLY LOADED

Left to right: Dave Clark with Sarah and Chris Kendall.

A move to growing Clearfield oilseed rape for the first time last season has made cruciferous weed control much more reliable at Arras Farm on the Yorkshire Wolds near Market Weighton, while maintaining performance progress seen in Oilseed YEN competition results.

Arable Farming reports.

HYBRIDS

Maintaining OSR progress with Clearfield

T

he Oilseed YEN competition has become an important part of the Kendall family’s oilseed rape crop improvement toolkit.

Chris Kendall says: “The competition provides a wealth of information about our crop and ways we might be able to improve it. Our entries averaged 4.7 tonnes per hectare and 4.9t/ ha in 2018 and 2019. Last year’s DK Imperial CL topped them both with a gross output of 5.2t/ ha. This was 47% of the site’s theoretical potential, compared to 41% and 36% previously.

“I can safely say the seasons haven’t been getting kinder. So,

we’re clearly making the progress we want to. And, equally importantly, we’re continuing to gain with our switch to Clearfield-growing to combat the brassica weeds problems.

Opportunity “This has given us the confidence to stick with the system while more than doubling our OSR area to 49ha this season to take advantage of what looks like being an even better market opportunity than we thought it might be when we made the decision last autumn.”

The family’s agronomist, Dave Clark of Agrii, was particularly pleased to see last X

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9

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06/05/2021 11:28

OILSEED RAPE AGRONOMY year’s crop maintain the consistent progress of OSR growing at Arras Farm, given the continued yield gap between Clearfield varieties and the best mainstream hybrids in trials and their general reputation for unimpressive autumn development.

Mr Clark says:“We don’t drill until mid-September which is a good bit later than most. This is partly because the previous cereal rarely comes off before the end of August and we bale all the straw for the farm’s poultry unit before incorporating its muck ahead of the rape. We’ve also been deliberately delaying sowing to reduce damage from both adult flea beetles and the larvae.

“This and the Wolds climate – not to mention too many north-facing slopes for comfort – puts the premium on crops that grow away rapidly in autumn.

“At the same time, however, we’d been finding controlling late-emerging charlock with bifenox tricky as it isn’t nearly so susceptible to frost as the more forward weeds accompanying August drilling. The way the spray can set back smaller, later-drilled crops is rather alarming too.

Get-up-and-go “Despite our Clearfield concerns, we took the plunge, going for DK Imperial because we always value the get-up-andgo of Dekalb varieties. And we’re very glad we did.”

The variety proved up to the challenge, establishing strongly and going on to produce a well-structured stand of around 40 plants/sq.m from sowing at 60 seeds/sq.m.

The Kendall family’s long history of soil care has helped here by keeping the thin Wolds ground in good heart. Duck muck incorporated ahead of the rape; rapid soil set up and drilling within a few days to minimise soil moisture loss; careful sowing at a consistent 2-3cm depth; and a specialist seedbed fertiliser have all played their part too.

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Switching to a Clearfield variety for improved weed control has not compromised OSR performance at Arras Farm.

Supported by a solid crop protection programme, 280kg/ha of nitrogen (including a late application of Nufol) and effective micronutrition, YEN benchmarking shows the crop averaged 171,000 seeds/sq.m, confirming the slightly higher-than-ideal plant population didn’t compromise its yield potential.

In common with most 2020 crops, however, the dry summer seriously constrained pod fill, leading to small seeds and a 43% oil content. Even so, the 23ha field from which the 2ha YEN entry was taken yielded a very creditable 4.3t/ha – similar to the 2019 yield and nicely up from the 4.1t/ha crop average in 2018.

Mr Kendall says: “We were far from disappointed with our first 5t-plus gross output in the competition. It put the crop in 13th place out of the 38 fields entered, only two others of which were Clearfield. So, we’re certainly not seeing any performance disadvantage from the move to ensure we get much more reliable weed control.”

Sticking with Clearfield across the expanded Arras Farm acreage, the family is growing newly recommended DK Imprint CL this season for the step up it offers in all-round

agronomy as well as performance. Its rapid autumn growth habit is particularly appreciated, together with the fact it doesn’t take off too early in spring.

Because the farm’s Wold ground takes a while to warm up, the team only wants the crop to grow away rapidly once the soil allows it sufficient access to nutrition.

Perennial problem Few, if any, changes have been needed to their OSR agronomy.

A perennial problem with poppies means they still employ a pre-em, although they avoid metazachlor at this stage. They have, however, found applying their Clearfield herbicide at the 2-3 leaf stage of charlock – much earlier than they did in their first year – the most effective.

Chris and Wendy’s daughter, ADAS crop physiologist Dr Sarah Kendall, says: “Our latest YEN results suggest a number of tweaks we can make to our management to maintain our progress.

“Clearly linked with the crop’s low thousand seed weight, the speed with which it went off in summer on chalk land where water availability is rarely an issue means a greater focus on both rooting and green leaf-preserving agronomy is likely to be valuable.

“Equally, seed analysis highlights phosphate and magnesium nutrition as key areas worth more attention.

And, although we have to be mindful of the risk of a hard winter on north-facing slopes in particular, we could probably also afford to ease back on sowing rates a little. As well as giving us a more open and potentially more efficient canopy, this may help reduce rooting competition.”

Mr Clark adds: “In addition to making the most of protected phosphate on soils prone to lock-up and extra boron with seedbed fertiliser, we have doubled our use of magnesium this season.

“Early tissue analysis confirms crop levels are low; it costs so little and is so easy to add to our spray programme.

“By including a low rate of metconazole at stem extension we are looking to aid crop structuring and rooting. And we’re exploring azoxystrobin at late flowering for its stay-green value.

“Largely nutritional fine-tuning and the even better Clearfield variety we have in the ground give us high hopes of pushing our OSR performance up another notch in 2021.”

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 16:44

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05/05/2021 04/05/2021 17:35 17:27

OILSEED RAPE AGRONOMY

Award-winning Lincolns h helps to overcome OSR c One grower’s efforts to tackle the challenges of oilseed rape production have paved the way to double YEN success. Arable Farming finds out more.

L

ast season was the first time Lincolnshire grower Mark Stubbs had any oilseed rape fail since his family partnership re-introduced it 10 years ago.

But this certainly has not deterred the double Oilseeds YEN award-winner from growing the crop. Nor in continuing to reject either early drilling or pulling back from every other year growing with wheat at Marshchapel on the coast or a one-inthree rotation with wheat followed by spring barley or oats on the Wolds at Calcethorpe.

Mr Stubbs says: “Our establishment recipe saw last year’s Marshchapel crop through alarming levels of flea beetle. But harvesting delays meant we sowed later and into poorer conditions than we like.

Then it was overwhelmed by a combination of intense slug pressure and winter flooding on the heavy ground.

“We went out of OSR 20 years ago because our original plough-based regime wasn’t performing. But almost every year since we’ve come back into the crop with hybrids and single pass seeding, we’ve averaged 4.5 tonnes per hectare or more across our farms.

“And despite some early flea beetle damage, we took the bronze YEN award with 6.77t/ ha from our DK Exclaim entry in 2019, going one better last season with V316OL averaging 6.71t/ha for the silver.”

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A. and C. Stubbs and Sons has 50ha of DK Exclaim and 160ha of HOLL – mainly the latest variety, V367OL – in the ground. With fewer early pest or establishment pressures, the 2021 crops are looking promising, boding well for overall farm performance.

“We deliberately chose hybrids for our return to OSR, starting with Excalibur and now DK Exclaim, together with high value HOLL-growing,” says Mr Stubbs.

“We’re not fans of PGRs, so we don’t want our crops overgrowthy ahead of winter. After the Proline they get with their AstroKerb in late-November we don’t spray them again until mid-flowering. So, good light leaf spot resistance and stem strength are vital. We also really value pod shatter resistance, which allows us to hold off on combining for the highest yields without added risk.”

Flea beetle Keen not to have their OSR too forward too early, August 12 is the earliest date Mr Stubbs is prepared to sow. He aims to finish before the final week of the month to get the crops established ahead of the early September peak of flea beetle migration.

Taking care to preserve soil moisture and maximise seed-to-soil contact in establishment, the business is never afraid to drill when the soil surface is dry either, providing rain is forecast. That way they

We really value pod shatter resistance, which allows us to hold off on combining for the highest yields without added risk MARK STUBBS

know the crop is ready to go as soon as there’s enough moisture for germination.

Their successful main defence against cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB) is crops that come through evenly and all at once, growing away rapidly to establish themselves strongly below ground more than above it.

This is really helped by their success in building soil structure and health over the past 10 years. The least possible tillage in the rotation, winter covers ahead of spring cropping and regular organic manuring, has seen soil organic matters climb from about 2% to more than 6%.

“We bale all our straw because we don’t want it interfering with establishment or providing shelter for the slugs,” says Mr Stubbs.

“However, we leave 10-15cm of stubble to protect the soil surface from drying out and give our OSR seedlings the best microclimate.

Well-branched “Our one-pass modified Discordon works well, following the baler as closely as possible and sowing at 45 seeds/sq.m to deliver our target population of 20-25 plants/sq.m. With the spring development ability of our preferred hybrids, this gives us the really thick-stemmed, well-branched canopies we know deliver best with our three-split, 210kg N/ha liquid fertiliser programme.

“We generally set the low disturbance legs at about 15cm but can go deeper to deal with any compaction. Dropping the

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 11:30

AGRONOMY OILSEED RAPE

ns hire recipe R challenges

FULLY LOADED

HYBRIDS

seed behind the packer into the 25cm grooves created by the DD rings we’ve fitted ensures it goes in at a consistent 2-3cm before being pressed firmly into place with the double set of DD rings we tow behind the machine.

“After extra consolidation and slug pelleting from the Cambridge roll within 24-48 hours, followed by 125kg/ha of DAP, we leave the crop to do what it does best. Falcon ensures we keep on top of cereal volunteers, with Centurion Max a key element in our programme ahead of the AstroKerb for the black-grass control that is one of the main reasons we grow the crop. We only use an insecticide when we can’t avoid it.”

As the family has a good local source of poultry manure and application without incorporation

is permitted after sowing, they are planning to try this instead of DAP in the coming autumn for some extra CSFB deterrence.

Diversion Although large amounts of shot-holing are seldom apparent in crops, Mr Stubbs’ policy of only spraying off OSR volunteers from his previous crops a week or so ahead of early October wheat drilling almost certainly helps to divert flea beetles from his new seeds.

In addition to preventing canopy growth until he really wants it in spring, not drilling in the first part of August also means few, if any problems with CSFB larvae; certainly none that are any threat to the well-rooted and resilient stands he achieves with his establishment regime.

JUNE 2021 AF OSR p12 13 YEN TR KH MC.indd 3

13

AURELIA

The UK’s number 1 oilseed rape variety @LGSeedsUK lgseeds.co.uk/aurelia

Tel: 01472 371471 lgseeds.co.uk enquiries@limagrain.co.uk

06/05/2021 11:31

OILSEED RAPE MARKETING Capitalising on fertile soils and a unique microclimate, one farming business has turned a commodity crop into a high value product exported around the world. Alice Dyer reports.

Finding a niche in a commodity market

R

obert Mackenzie believes his family farm’s location, surrounded by the coastlines of the Moray, Cromarty and Dornoch firths and sheltered by the north west Highlands, is what gives Cullisse Highland Rapeseed Oil its particular, buttery taste, chosen by chefs from London to Singapore.

The farm’s position also gives way to good growing conditions for the crop, which is too far north to feel the effects of flea beetle and avoids most disease issues, with slugs the only real setback, according to Mr Mackenzie’s brother Peter, who manages the farming side of the operation.

The brothers prefer to keep variety choice under wraps, commenting only that it requires careful selection to create a flavoursome oil with good colour.

Mr Mackenzie says: “Varieties are mostly developed for traits like higher yields and most are not selected on taste. Rapeseed that goes for bulk refining is just a blend of a lot of varieties, which is processed at really high temperatures and undergoes a bleaching process, creating a mutual flavour.

“Some varieties we have tried made a much darker and cloudier oil or can be much more industrial tasting. When you’re cold pressing, you’re trying to select a variety that’s going to give a nicer flavour. The problem is these varieties then go out of fashion and seed companies drop them. We have probably only got one to two years left of the variety we are growing, unless we just use farm saved seed but that can be problematic over time. We

14

The longer, cooler growing season in the Highlands creates a uniquely flavoured oil, says Robert Mackenzie.

may need to do some trials and select a new variety soon.”

Alongside wheat, potatoes, spring and winter barley, the farm grows around 80 hectares of oilseed rape, of which about 100 tonnes goes into its own-brand cold pressed oil, while the rest is sold on the open market.

Buttery Mr Mackenzie says: “Chefs like our oil because they say it’s buttery and grassy-tasting, a bit like peas or asparagus but not all varieties have that. Some can be quite bitter.

“There’s obviously the varietal difference but also the climatic difference too. We have a longer, cooler, growing season that creates this flavour, whereas German oils tend to have a much more peppery flavour as a result of their shorter, hotter growing season.”

The cold pressing process also retains the flavour of the crop, resulting in a healthy oil with a thicker consistency.

“To make a standard vegetable

oil it’s refined at a very high temperature with a chemical called Hexane which extracts all the oil from the seed and the colour is then neutralised. With cold pressing you’re not getting every drop of oil out of the seed but as it’s a gentler process, you’re retaining that colour and you get that nuanced flavour.”

Mr Mackenzie’s inspiration for the cold pressing process was an unusual one, stemming from his involvement with Farm Africa while studying agriculture at university.

“We liked the idea of Scottish rural communities supporting rural communities in Africa, so did some fundraising events. I went out to see some of their work in Kenya and visited a village that had been given a cold press to crush sunflower seeds.

All the local smallholders would bring their seeds for crushing and they could then sell the oil at market.

It was a simple process and much more crude than our sophisticated equipment. I wondered why we weren’t doing it with rapeseed.”

The company now donates 20p from every litre sold to Farm Africa.

The business’ pressing facility started life in a shipping container but is now housed in a converted granary. They can now press 1t a day, equating to around 400 litres of oil and 600kg of by-product which is fed to the farm’s suckler herd or sold to neighbouring farms.

For the oil itself, 60% of Cullisse’s market is retail, through farmers’ markets, shows and independent retailers, while the remainder goes to the food service industry.

However, like many food businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic has meant it has been a tough year.

“When the pandemic hit all the restaurants closed and the market disappeared. We do a lot of food service to London and normally we have pallet-loads going down there every few weeks, but we had nothing over winter as London shut down. Our first load this year went last week (late April), so things are starting to pick up again,” he says.

JUNE 2021

AF OSR p14 ColdPressed TR KH AD.indd 2

06/05/2021 12:34

DISEASE OILSEED RAPE Known as the ‘disease of wet winters’, incidences of cylindrosporiose, a secondary light leaf spot infection, have increased in recent years. Alice Dyer finds out more.

Cylindrosporiose can cause the stem to distort and crack.

Shining a light on stem health

L

ight leaf spot is normally associated with symptoms seen on the leaves, but it can have detrimental effects on stem health throughout the season.

This is because it is a polycyclic disease, meaning it can cycle more than once per season, leading to multiple infections.

Dr Georgia Mitrousia, oilseed rape breeder at Limagrain, explains: “The [movement of the disease] is called cylindrosporiose and it causes secondary infections in the stem to occur, unlike phoma where what you see at the end is predetermined by what you see at the beginning.”

While the leaf curling and distortion caused by light leaf spot seen in late winter and spring makes the plant more vulnerable to winter kill, cylindrosporiose can cause the stem to distort and horizontal cracks can appear as the stem extends. Infection of

Conditions leading to cylindrosporiose JThe factors favourable to the appearance of cylindrosporiose are rainy autumns and winters – when the first leaf spots appear on the plants – followed by a few showers in spring which will promote the development of the disease on stems and pods.

Alongside good varietal resistance, contaminated crop residues should be removed to limit the spread of the fungus from year to year and a broad-spectrum fungicide treatment targeted at the sclerotinia timing may also reduce pressure.

Source: Limagrain

the pods can also lead to premature pod shatter.

“Cylindrosporiose in the stem is the part of the disease that is not so

Light leaf spot severity on stems in harvest 2020 Variety Aurelia Ambassador LG Aviron Comparator hybrid Comparator conv Comparator hybrid

Severity on stems 2.0 3.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0

RL rating* 7 7 7 6 6 7

* Based on severity on leaves. Source: Limagrain trial network, LLS UK site

well known but is being explored a lot now on the continent where it is more common,” Dr Mitrousia says.

“Yield losses associated with this disease can be up to one tonne per hectare, making it the most economically damaging OSR disease.”

Resistance ratings The severity of light leaf spot has also increased in recent years, despite the availability of varieties with good resistance. Trials by Limagrain across the UK and Europe found that despite their high resistance ratings, some varieties were more affected by cylindrosporiose than others (see table).

Dr Mitrousia says: “We have seen great differences in the severity of the light leaf spot disease symptoms on stems between different varieties and across our germplasm. Looking at the symptom variation between our germplasm, there is strong evidence to suggest the phenotype on the more resistant individuals is genetically linked.”

Limagrain’s emphasis on breeding for disease tolerance and resistance includes a focus on stem health.

“A healthy stem makes for a healthy crop, with better defence mechanisms against insects and abiotic stresses, plus more efficient nutrient and water uptake.”

Improved varietal resistance has seen the incidence of other stem health-compromising diseases such as phoma cause less of a problem in recent years, but for verticillium stem stripe, the pathogen is more complicated.

“It’s a soil-borne disease and it can cause great losses through canopy collapse and seed shedding.

It’s more of a tricky one because you don’t see it until the end of the season and there is no chemical solution,” says Dr Mitrousia.

“The disease severity is dependent on weather patterns and yield losses can really vary at 3-34%. Increased yield losses are associated with high temperatures and drought stress prior harvest.”

JUNE 2021 AF OSR p15 Disease AD TR RM.indd 2

15 06/05/2021 14:06

Results from the 2021 National Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle Management Study confirm

a re

CSFB damage down this se Lizzie Carr-Archer says: “This much improved position results from a combination of noticeably lower autumn cabbage stem flea beetle [CSFB] pressure as well as much better soil moisture conditions at drilling.

Intense “Fewer than 20% of the 187 crops in our initial data were judged to have suffered an intense or substantial challenge from flea beetle last autumn against more than 50% in 2019.

“At the same time, only around 15% of this season’s crops had to deal with low or very low soil moisture conditions at establishment compared to nearly 40% last season.

National winter OSR crop position SOURCE: National CSFB Management Studies 2020 and 2021

100

Proportion of crops (%)

G

rowers across the country sowing almost 12,000 hectares of winter oilseed rape last autumn report a redrilling rate of just 4% in a benchmarking study run by Bayer in conjunction with ADAS and NIAB in late March/early April.

This compares with 14% identified in an almost identical study undertaken at the same time last spring.

The survey reveals 90% of crops planted last autumn have survived through to spring and all are being taken through to harvest, against 67% and 61% respectively in 2020 (see graph).

Bayer study co-ordinator

90%

90%

80 67% 61%

60 40 20

14% 4%

0

Redrilled

Surviving to spring 2020/21

“For the second year in a row, earlier August drillings gave higher levels of crop survival,” she adds. “The differences between these and

Being taken to harvest

2019/20

later drillings was far less than in 2019, though.

“Unfortunately, as ever, some growers have clearly suffered more than most. However, it is

CSFB damage spells double trouble for OSR standing power JCSFB damage weakens stem and restricts growth, rendering crops increasingly prone to lodging, ADAS work has confirmed.

ADAS entomologist Fran Pickering says: “It’s long been assumed that CSFB larvae and their activity affect stem strength, but we wanted to know, by how much? And taking

16 AF OSR p16 17 CSFB TR KH MC.indd 2

it one step further, what impact does that have on lodging?”

The ADAS field trials took 50 plants at the end of flowering in May 2020 from two sites in East Anglia.

Strength The team assessed the plants’ stem diameter, breaking strength and the internal

damage caused by CSFB. By assessing the percentage area of stem damaged, the plants were sorted into five categories ranging from ‘minimal’ (plants with less than 5% damage), to ‘severe’ (plants with 76-100% of stem area damaged).

Ms Pickering says: “There was a clear trend showing thicker stems were stronger

and while this is not news, the results also showed that higher damage was associated with the thinner stems. But why?”

The CSFB damage was predominantly mining and browning at the base of the stem and this type of damage restricts the take-up of nutrients and water, which in turn, restricts growth, adds Ms Pickering.

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 11:36

irm

AGRONOMY OILSEED RAPE Longer stubbles boost for CSFB management

a reduction in damage.

s season More information JFran Pickering and Tim Heyward were speaking in a BASF webinar titled ‘Helping spring decisions in OSR’, which is available in the BASF Real Results Virtual Farm webinar archive.

For more from MORE ONLINE the webinar, visit basfrealresultsfarm.com

really heartening to see how markedly the national position seems to have improved.

“And even where they are carrying significant larval burdens, many crops appear to be sufficiently well-established and vigorous enough to deal with them.”

“Plants taken from the second site revealed that for any given stem diameter, more damage makes stems weaker.

The larval feeding not only restricts thickness of the stem but hollows stems, reducing their strength.

“Even low levels of CSFB damage significantly reduce stem strength. On average,

This work confirms that leaving longer stubbles can help crops tolerate adult grazing RICHARD PHILLIPS

stems with less than 25% damage were 29% weaker.”

Agronomic practices adopted to manage CSFB may also contribute to an increased lodging risk. Berkshire OSR grower Tim Hayward has changed how he grows OSR to combat the effects of CSFB. He says: “Previously we were drilling after barley. We are a

Adult CSFB damage (DK Excited sown into different stubble lengths) SOURCE: ADAS/Bayer CSFB Management FIG Trials 2020

70 60

Shot-holing (%)

Fewer than 20% of the 187 crops in this season’s National Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle Management Study were judged to have suffered an intense or substantial challenge from flea beetle last autumn.

JDrilling oilseed rape into a longer cereal stubble can significantly reduce damage from adult cabbage stem flea beetle regardless of sowing date or pest pressure, CSFB farm innovation group trials run

by ADAS for Bayer this season have revealed.

Consistent reductions of 25-31% in shot-holing were recorded from direct sowing a fast-developing hybrid into stubbles of around 30cm against those of 15cm in the field-scale strip trials on three farms in Essex and Cambridgeshire (see graph).

Drilled from August 12 to September 6, all the trial fields had sufficient moisture levels during establishment, with the earliest sown incurring noticeably less flea beetle damage overall than the later-drilled sites.

Less CSFB grazing during

50 40 30 20 10 0

Field A – Essex (August 12 sown)

Field C – Essex Field B – Cambridgeshire (September 2 sown) (September 6 sown)

Short stubble

Long stubble

early establishment meant the crops sown into longer stubbles went into winter with taller plants and generally higher plant populations than those sown into shorter stubbles.

Bayer OSR trials co-ordinator Richard Phillips says: “This work provides the first independent evidence of the anecdotal value of longer stubbles in systems which already have the CSFB management advantage of minimal soil surface disturbance. It confirms that, alongside other measures, leaving longer stubbles can help crops tolerate adult grazing.

“Together with earlier sowing, the national study of cabbage stem flea beetle management we ran with more than 220 growers across the country last season highlighted the importance of hybrid varieties, in

general, and fast-developing as well as vigorously-establishing hybrids, in particular, in coping with the pest.

“Leaving longer stubbles on its own was not identified as a particularly successful management technique in this study. So, its success is likely to depend on careful integration with other cultural controls.”

Late-November assessments in the trials also revealed higher larval populations per plant in the longer stubble sowings on two of the three farms, Mr Philips adds.

“ADAS believes this warrants investigation as it may underline the importance of techniques such as growing hybrids that develop earlier in spring and winter defoliation considered to be valuable in reducing subsequent larval damage.”

late farm so it would be the first week of September before OSR was in the ground. In 2019 and 2020 we had dry spells in September. That, together with the CSFB damage, meant we had some crop failures.

“Now, we’re direct drilling into long wheat stubbles and paying much more attention to the forecast.”

Being on thin chalk soils with restricted potential yields, Mr Hayward has not, historically, had a problem with lodging.

But moving to conventional seed sown at higher seed rates, combined with some larvae damage, means his crops are higher risk. However, with careful monitoring the risk is manageable, says Ms Pickering.

JUNE 2021 AF OSR p16 17 CSFB TR KH MC.indd 3

17 06/05/2021 11:36

OILSEED RAPE BREEDING A whole genome approach is enabling one OSR breeder to develop varieties with underlying genetic strength conferred by many genes working together. Arable Farming reports.

Tailor-made varieties for different environments

I

mproving the whole genetic package to deliver environmentally-resilient oilseed rape performance is the focus of Dekalb’s variety development programme, which aims to provide growers with tailored solutions rather than just traits.

French breeding programme leader Julien Binet explains: “We have introduced even greater diversity at the heart of our oilseed rape breeding with a major expansion of our di-haploid laboratory which creates genetically pure lines from single pollen grains.

“At the same time, we are employing the genome-wide selection approach that has revolutionised livestock breeding in recent years. High-capacity genetic mapping allows us to identify whole blocks of genes associated with our most successful hybrids in different environments and track these within our parent lines.

“We are then able to estimate the overall breeding value of hybrid parents for the outcomes we want.

This enables us to tailor our variety development very much more precisely for different environments. Modelling tools and technologies from corn, canola, soybean, wheat and rice breeding are proving invaluable to us here.

And we are thinking outside the traditional plant breeding box model by bringing animal breeding expertise into our team.”

Alongside marker-assisted selection to introduce and fix new traits involving relatively few genes into Dekalb lines, this whole genome approach is giving the company the ability to much

18 AF OSR p18 Breeding MC TR KH.indd 2

The Dekalb programme is targeting yield improvement via advances in environmental resilience, says OSR breeder Julien Binet.

more reliably develop hybrids with combinations of characters governed by many genes working together; characters involved in more complex traits such as early plant establishment, environmental stress tolerance and broad-spectrum disease resistance, that are far less responsive to traditional marker-assisted techniques.

Fundamental Completely untreated breeding and selection trials run across a range of stress situations in Europe are fundamental to these advances, says UK and Nordics breeding leader Matthew Clarke.

“It is easy to underestimate the value of these. But we continue testing all our emerging hybrids as well as parent lines without any crop protection support right through to their NL2 stage of development. And we deliberately do so in situations known to present particular disease, pest

and other environmental challenges.

“This allows us to only bring forward hybrids we are confident have the underlying genetic strength to perform consistently well for their particular environments. We do not consider many of the tolerances we know our varieties possess as major traits.

Rather, we consider them to be essential backgrounds of environmental resilience growers can rely on.

“At the same time this selection work allows us to identify the key genetic elements most associated with the resilience we identify in particular environments to feed back into our genome-wide selection programme. It is a circular process of continual all-round improvement.”

Unlike principal traits such as phoma resistance, light leaf spot resistance and pod shatter resistance which provide genetic insurance against losses, the two

breeders regard the improvement in environmental resilience they are building into varieties as yield-additive, more than anything else.

“As a hugely complex trait, yield is not something we can reliably breed for directly,” says Mr Binet.

“And if we put too much general emphasis on breeding for yield, we can easily dilute important traits, the loss of which may prove catastrophic under the extremes of climate we are seeing these days.

“By constantly adding to the platform of traits we have been able to fix in our parent lines and steadily building hybrids we know to be especially well-adapted to particular environments we can achieve the steady, low-risk, high-reliability performance progress growers are asking us for.

We can also provide varieties purpose-built to perform under specific regimes, like early or later drilling, light or deep soils, or restrictive nitrogen regimes.”

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 11:37

SCLEROTINIA STOPPING, YIELD TOPPING, NEW PT303.

Introducing the first Pioneer Protector® Sclerotinia winter oilseed rape hybrid offering tolerance to this difficult to control stem-based disease.

PT303 is the first winter oilseed rape hybrid with a proven tolerance to Sclerotinia. In AHDB Candidate List trials it delivered the top gross output in each region with a UK yield of 111%, an East/West yield of 116% and 105% in the North.

In addition to its breakthrough Sclerotinia tolerance, PT303 has both Turnip Yellows Virus (TuYV) and RLM7 enhanced Phoma resistance.

This unique combination allows you to manage your crop with greater flexibility and assurance in our increasingly warmer and wetter climate.

PT303 is available for sowing in autumn 2021 for the first time. Talk to your advisor or find out more at corteva.co.uk/pioneer

CANDIDATE AHDB Recommended List database at ahdb.org.uk/rl

Keep in the know corteva.co.uk/signup @CortevaUK

Discover more at corteva.co.uk Technical Hotline: 0800 689 8899 E-mail: ukhotline@corteva.com Pioneer Hi-Bred Northern Europe Sales Division GmbH, Corteva Agriscience UK Limited, CPC2 Capital Park, Fulbourn, Cambridge CB21 5XE. Tel: 01462 457272. ®, ™ Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Pioneer® brand products are provided subject to the terms and conditions of purchase which are part of the labelling and purchase documents. © 2021 Corteva.

OSR_21_P19.indd 1 TP25209 Pioneer PT303 ad_Arable Farming_A4.indd 1

05/05/2021 02/03/2021 17:36 15:05

OSR VARIETY news Sustainable stem canker resistance New traits coming to the market bring advances in disease resistance and nitrogen use efficiency in winter oilseed rape.

A

new source of resistance to phoma stem canker, labelled RlmS, will confer effective and sustainable resistance to the disease, says plant breeder LS Plant Breeding (LSPB).

The company is introducing RlmS to the UK market in two varieties: Respect and Flemming.

Respect is a hybrid set to become a new benchmark for plant health and yield stability, says LSPB. Along with its resistance to phoma stem canker, it is also said to have a high, consistent yield performance and vigorous growth habit in autumn and spring regrowth. The variety was added to the AHDB Recommended List (RL) for the East/West region for 2021/22.

Flemming is another first for the UK market as a next generation hybrid with stacked traits, adding turnip yellows virus resistance (TuYV) to the RlmS resistance. A RL candidate variety, it is due to be considered for addition to the RL this autumn. Flemming promises the same yield performance and autumn vigour as Respect with a

20 AF OSR p20 21 V News TR KH MC.indd 2

more prostrate growth habit, says LSPB. Chris Guest, LSPB managing director, explains the innovations behind RlmS. “This gene was identified by breeders at NPZ, LSPB’s shareholder, who have been researching phoma resistances for decades. It was integrated into our breeding programmes and developed into a viable trait for commercial varieties.

Genetics “It is important to note that the RlmS gene is distinct from those widely found in current oilseed rape varieties. Hence, by developing our hybrids with different genetics, we give extended and resilient phoma resistance in the field.

“The unique phoma resistance is also associated with strong overall plant health and the gene has especially good stem resistance that brings better protection against the increasingly important pathogens of verticillium and sclerotinia.

“While cabbage stem flea beetle is seen as the major current threat by growers, it should be emphasised that stem canker/phoma is one of the

The RlmS gene in the LSPB varieties Respect and Flemming brings a new source of phoma resistance to the market.

most important diseases in oilseed rape that has widespread and regular occurrence, taking up to 50% off yield potential. It is estimated that total economic losses from the disease reach about £100 million each season.

“The oilseed rape area is set to rebound to sustainable levels this autumn as, by most measures, it is the best break crop on a gross margin basis.

The heightened resistance from our new varieties to stem canker/phoma – and added

TuYV resistance – will be an important weapon in the armoury of growers.”

Other winter OSR varieties to have emerged from the LSPB breeding programme in recent years have included clubrootresistant varieties Croozer and Crome, plus the HEAR variety Resort, which are all currently on the Recommended List.

“Respect and Flemming are a new and exciting generation of hybrids,” concludes Mr Guest.

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 11:38

VARIETIES OILSEED RAPE

Strength in four-trait varieties JThe high yielding hybrid oilseed rape LG Antigua offers the N-Flex trait, which makes it a four-trait loaded variety encompassing TuYV, pod shatter, RLM7 phoma resistance and now N-Flex, says breeder Limagrain.

Varieties with the N-Flex trait have the ability to use nitrogen

more efficiently. In the field, this means varieties with the trait are better able to withstand delayed or sub-optimal nitrogen applications.

This has been confirmed in trials over the last few seasons in Europe, testing LG Antigua’s performance in optimal and sub-optimal nitrogen conditions.

Comparison of four-trait varieties Gross output UK Gross output E/W N-Flex Pod shatter TuYV RLM7

LG Antigua 108 109 Y Y Y Y

Will Charlton, Limagrain UK arable marketing manager, says: “Essentially the N-Flex trait means hybrids containing the trait use each unit of available N more efficiently than those which don’t.

In the field, this translates into varieties with the trait producing more stable yields year to year, with less in-field yield variability.”

Source: Limagrain

LG Aviron 108 109 Y Y Y Y

Ambassador 108 109 Y Y Y Y

The addition of the N-Flex trait illustrates Limagrain’s approach to producing trait-loaded hybrid oilseed rape varieties, adds Mr Charlton.

Pod shatter High yielding varieties Ambassador and LG Aviron were the first four-trait loaded varieties, offering genetic resistance to TuYV, pod shatter, RLM7 and the N-Flex trait. LG Antigua now joins this line-up.

Split field trials are being carried out on commercial farms this season to evaluate how N-Flex aids spring nitrogen management and secures yields, Mr Charlton says.

Breakthrough sclerotinia tolerance trait JThe first winter oilseed rape variety with a claim for tolerance to the stem disease sclerotinia has recently been launched by Pioneer, the seed brand of Corteva Agriscience.

The Pioneer Protector Sclerotinia PT303 hybrid has gained National Listing and the results from the independent AHDB Candidate List trials have been published.

PT303 has delivered the highest gross output yields in each AHDB region – including a UK region yield of 111%.

It was ranked first with a gross output yield of 116% in the East/West region and also topped the North region with a yield of 105%.

PT303 also delivers turnip yellows virus and RLM7-based phoma resistance.

In Corteva trials with sclerotinia infection levels at 25% or above, the severity of the disease was reduced by up to 75%. Trials also showed the higher the severity of disease,

pursue a more efficient, productive future, PT303’s potential to limit the development of sclerotinia could be a significant component of disease control strategies.

“Sclerotinia only strikes every so often, but when it does it is hugely damaging to yield.

“Having identified a genetic source of sclerotinia tolerance, Corteva breeders have spent more than a decade crossing that source into our regular hybrids through traditional breeding.

Sclerotinia levels were 75% lower in PT303 than in susceptible varieties in trials where infection levels were 25% or above, says Corteva.

the greater the benefit from the trait.

Corteva Agriscience seeds and inoculants sales manager Andy Stainthorpe says: “Pioneer Protector Sclerotinia PT303 gives farmers the ability to reduce the incidence of disease and manage their crop protec-

tion applications with greater flexibility and assurance.

“With environmental effects such as global warming, sclerotinia is becoming a bigger burden for farmers during increasingly humid and wet weather.

“As domestic agricultural policy evolves and farm businesses

Milestone “No products have previously offered any level of resistance to sclerotinia but with PT303 we now have a variety that has tolerance – a major milestone in our industry.”

PT303 scores 6 for light leaf spot resistance and 7 for stem canker in AHDB trials and has proven turnip yellows virus resistance, adding an extra layer of protection for growers.

JUNE 2021 AF OSR p20 21 V News TR KH MC.indd 3

21 06/05/2021 11:38

OILSEED RAPE BREEDING A trio of new varieties show innovation in breeding oilseed rape is far from being at a standstill for the crop. Arable Farming finds out more from breeder DSV.

Breeding solutions to boost OSR reliability

W

hile the loss of neonicotinoids rocked breeders and growers alike, confidence in oilseed rape is growing again with 2021 plantings more than likely to show definitive shoots of the crop’s recovery.

This is according to Sarah Hawthorne of DSV UK, who suggests growers have gone full circle in recent years, with many realising oilseed rape is still the best break crop for UK rotations.

Ms Hawthorne says: “There are definitely areas of the country where it will take a long time for confidence to return, but we’ve learned a lot in recent years and there are large areas where oilseed rape is doing really well now.

“Varieties have definitely got stronger, which has helped, but there are exciting developments on the horizon which will make the crop a safer bet in the future.”

Far from being daunted by the downturn in crop volume in recent

Varieties have definitely got stronger, which has helped, but there are exciting developments on the horizon SARAH HAWTHORNE

22

Sarah Hawthorne says DSV Duplo has performed well in non-inversion tillage trials.

years, DSV’s breeding development has continued apace, with new varieties now available bearing many signature features that will define the company’s varieties in the future, she says.

“Much of the development of oilseed rape in recent years has been around giving the crop greater resilience in the face of the reduced agronomic options available, which is really what the focus of our post-neonicotinoid PNN initiative was about.

“This led to the establishment of ‘layered’ trait sets combining disease resistance with strong physical properties, all designed to make crops stronger and more viable with fewer inputs and this has acted as a springboard for a whole new generation of varieties.”

DSV Matrix CL, which has just been included in the AHDB Candidate List 2021/22, is probably the best manifestation of this.

“As the first quad-layered PNN variety, it marks a huge step forward in breeding innovation, being the first variety to stack four complex traits together without compromising yield.

Performance “A Clearfield winter oilseed rape variety, it allows the grower to choose powerful, post-emergence Clearfield chemistry without facing the potential drop in performance shown in the previous generations of varieties,” says Ms Hawthorne.

Matrix CL is the highest yielding Clearfield variety

available to UK growers and it is one of only a few varieties selected as a candidate for the whole UK, making it suitable for growing in the North and the East/West regions, she adds.

“Matrix CL’s gross output in the East/West region is more than 108% of control with an impressive 46% oil content adding to its appeal.

“It’s the first UK Clearfield variety to offer turnip yellow virus [TuYV] resistance with pod shatter resistance and RLM7+ resistance to stem canker, completing its complex four layer disease and yield protection features.

“With high vigour from already successful Clearfield varieties such as Plurax CL, Matrix CL has performed particularly well in X

JUNE 2021

AF OSR p22 24 Varieties TR KH MC.indd 2

06/05/2021 11:40

NEW 1 Top performing candidate variety for the East and West based on AHDB data.

2 Low-risk option with high yields and high oil content.

3 Resilient to environmental pressure: consistent year-on-year results in UK trials.

4 Brings robust new genetics to the market from a new breeding programme.

5 Hard to match disease package: Phoma resistant mixed with TuYV resistance and high Verticillium tolerance.

6 Wide drilling window: resilient to the pressures faced whether drilled early or late.

7 Vigorous growth habit: recovers quickly from CSFB attack.

Ten reasons to grow Tennyson.

Introducing Tennyson. The new robust, low-risk OSR variety and the latest from Elsoms’ UK breeding programme. Already accepted onto the AHDB candidate list, its income potential alone is reason enough to add it to your 2021 OSR programme.

TENNYSON Winter Oilseed Rape

8 Excellent standing power: stem stiffness of 8 and lodging score of 9.

Speak to your seed merchant today about availability.

9 Early maturity: allows combining to begin earlier.

10 Agronomically stable and consistent: proven in trials means this variety will not let you down.

01775 715000 www.elsoms.com

OSR_21_P23.indd 1 TP25218 Elsoms Tennyson OSR_Arable Farming A4.indd 1

05/05/2021 17/03/2021 17:38 15:44

OILSEED RAPE BREEDING our high pressure flea beetle trials, plus it offers top standing scores with a 9 for lodging and an 8 for stem stiffness.”

Another new variety introducing significant genetic technology to the UK oilseed rape market is DSV Dart, says Ms Hawthorne.

Joining the AHDB Candidate List in December 2020, DSV Dart is a high yielder that has performed well across UK trials, but with particularly impressive results in the East/West region with a gross output of 113% and an oil content of 45.7%.

“Like other layered varieties, Dart offers protection from the growing threat of TuYV as well as featuring RLM7+ multi-gene resistance to stem canker, strong verticillium wilt tolerance plus high resistance to light leaf spot with a score of 6.”

But what really sets Dart apart is that it is the first variety to carry HarvestMax yield protection technology, Ms Hawthorne adds.

“HarvestMax has been specifically developed to give a new level of defence against harvest challenges by combining DSV’s longest and largest pods bred to date with new pod features alongside a short and compact canopy structure.

“Not only does this allow Dart to be quickly and efficiently combined with minimum seed loss, it also helps to ensure quick and even dry down of the plant.

“Other grower-friendly features include a prostrate growth habit

We have a strong genetic legacy, so it’s likely our past will be a large part of our future SARAH HAWTHORNE

24

Dart is the first variety to carry HarvestMax yield protection technology.

which results in rapid weed-inhibiting ground cover, meaning the variety is unlikely to need an autumn PGR. “Flexibility in view of more variable growing conditions is also a key Dart characteristic.

Although ideally drilled in the optimum autumn window, the variety’s considerable vigour means it can safely be later drilled if weather conditions dictate this.”

The trio of new varieties is completed with DSV Duplo and although this is a triple-layered variety in the style of the varieties Darling and Dazzler, it adds the highest vigour yet to these traits, says Ms Hawthorne.

“DSV Duplo has again been added to the AHDB Candidate List for 2021, with an exceptional oil content of 46.8% and a yield of 109% for the East/ West region.

“Combining RLM7+ multi-gene phoma stem canker resistance, TuYV resistance and pod shatter resistance, DSV Duplo is a strong, high yielding variety suitable for all areas of the UK. “It’s the perfect variety for modern production with real

‘get-up-and-go’ in autumn and spring for the strongest competition against weed and pest threats, allied to an unbeatable agronomic package and yield potential.

“It’s proved itself to be a robust variety in all conditions across Europe and is a first choice for growers in less than ideal growing circumstances. As well as its high yield and oil content, DSV Duplo’s other standout figures include a 9 for stem canker resistance and 8s for lodging resistance and stem stiffness.”

Tillage trials DSV Duplo has also performed well in DSV’s new non-inversion tillage trials, Ms Hawthorne adds.

“These trials, which also include no-till, aim to identify varieties which produce strong establishment, exceptional performance and consistent gross output delivery in reduced cultivation systems and Duplo has more than proved itself in these.”

By introducing new traits and technologies and combining these into high performance hybrids, DSV is confident it can

increase crop reliability and resilience without compromising yields, says Ms Hawthorne.

“There are other areas on the radar too. Modern oilseed rape varieties are nearly 30% more nitrogen efficient than the highest yielders from just a few years ago, for example, but this continues to be an area of interest for breeders.

“With nitrogen utilisation increasingly in the spotlight, trials are showing a plant’s ability to make better use of nutrients cannot be tied to a specific gene but is instead dependent on a number of key features.

“Well-developed roots are one of the most important of these with a deep taproot and long side branches essential in maximising nutrient uptake and this has always been a DSV strength going back to the highly popular variety Incentive and further.

“We have a strong genetic legacy, so it’s likely our past will be a large part of our future too and this could well be the case when it comes to maximising nitrogen efficiency in the years ahead,” Ms Hawthorne adds.

JUNE 2021

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ALTERNATIVES OILSEED RAPE With growers that have dropped oilseed rape from the rotation now left with a hard-tofill void in their break crop options, Alice Dyer takes a look at the prospects for soya.

Meeting the demand for home-grown soya

S

oya is a controversial crop both in terms of its environmental reputation and its potential in UK arable rotations.

But the combination of a growing market for plant-based proteins and concerns over imported South American soya’s sustainability credentials is driving UK companies to rethink their sourcing policies, creating a strong market for home-grown crop in the UK. Soya has also experienced something of an agronomic upturn in recent years, with an increased chemical armoury now available and varieties more suited to the UK climate.

All this is according to David McNaughton, director of Soya UK, who says a wide choice of pre- and post-emergence herbicides gives the crop a much better set of choices compared to peas and beans and the crop is well-known for its good black-grass control on heavy land.

Effectiveness He says: “We’re well tooled up now. Bean seed fly used to be a problem, but we’ve solved that after using Hallmark and discovered to our amazement it worked incredibly well and we couldn’t believe it gives us almost 100% effectiveness. If you tank mix it with a pre-em it acts as a deterrent. It doesn’t kill [the pest] but stops the female fly from entering the field.”

Variety-wise, the widely grown Siverka has intermediate

The focus on sustainability is driving domestic soya prices upwards.

Soya agronomy rSow in late April/early May at 2.5-3.8cm into a warm seedbed rApply pre-em herbicide rControl broad-leaved weeds with a post-em herbicide, usually around five weeks from sowing rA fungicide may be included with the post-em herbicide to guard against sclerotinia in thick crops rApply a graminicide if grass-weeds are a problem rThere are four main threats to soya: Dry seedbeds, compacted seedbeds, drilling too deep and pigeons Source: Soya UK

earliness and should be ready for harvest without desiccation by September 18-28, says Mr

McNaughton. However, this is also when the rains came in the last two seasons, leading to two difficult harvests.

“We believe it will be reliably harvested in September in normal years. In 2018, we saw yields in Kent of 3.45 tonnes/hectare in one field. In reality we hope to get 2.5t/ha but it’s a tantalising glimpse into what is possible.

Challenge “Arnica is another new variety, but ironically is too early for East Anglia. Most growers choose Siverka, with others coming along soon.”

Herefordshire farmer Ally Hunter Blair is entering his fifth season growing the crop, but says the main challenge is that varieties are not particularly suited to the UK’s climate.

“We want a harvest date that

In 2018, we saw yields in Kent of 3.45 tonnes/hectare in one field. In reality we hope to get 2.5t/ha DAVID McNAUGHTON is in September and because the ground doesn’t warm up quickly enough, we often don’t get it in the ground quick enough to get going.”

The soya harvest at Mr Hunter Blair’s farm in the Wye Valley generally commences in the second week of September, X

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OILSEED RAPE ALTERNATIVES The wheat yields after soya tend to be 0.25t/ha more than following rape ALLY HUNTER BLAIR

but in the disastrous season of 2019 was more than a month later.

“We’ve had four harvests – two were average, 2018 was very good and 2019 was a disaster.

We’re targeting the magic 2.5t/ ha, but have only ever achieved that once. It’s more like 1.8t/ha.

You have to keep a real eye on pigeons too.

Low input “However, it’s very low input.

The seed cost is expensive but last year we only spent £8/ha on everything else and the only input was one herbicide.”

This season Mr Hunter Blair will be growing 15ha of the variety Abelina for United Oilseeds.

He adds: “The price is shooting up and it gives a great entry into wheat and fixes a bit of nitrogen. The wheat yields after soya tend to be 0.25t/ha more than following rape. We grew peas before and they were difficult too.

“In my farming system I’d like to keep a legume in the mix, but our ground is too light for beans.”

Soya also offers what every niche crop grower dreams of – a good, solid market that is not overly picky, adds Mr McNaughton.

He says: “We could put 10,000-12,000ha in the ground with the market how it is.

“As long as you get reasonable quality it’s a pretty forgiving market. It’s a premium market but it’s high volume and not overly fussy [about quality].”

Sustainable sourcing JSoya can be found in many food cupboard staples including bread, crisps, instant noodles and is also widely used in dog food and fish bait.

However, where the most opportunity lies for UK farmers is as a meat alternative, says Stephen Trutt, head of supply chain and procurement at AB Mauri in Hertfordshire, the UK’s only soya flour mill.

The company has created the brand NaturaSoy, which he says gives UK growers a potential market for more than 16,000 tonnes of the crop.

“We currently bring it in from Canada because many years ago when GM soya came into the US, Round Up Ready beans weren’t suited to the Canadian climate.”

Switch However, it is now getting harder to convince Canadian growers to stay away from GM varieties and the company wants to switch its supply to UK-grown soya beans.

“From a sustainability angle this is what excites retailers and it’s more accessible for us. There’s a lot of bad press

about soya. All of the soya AB Mauri uses is certified sustainable and we have to be confident in that because any time there’s an issue around soya and deforestation we get a lot of enquiries about where our crop comes from and whether we are following the right sustainability principles.

“With NaturaSoy we’re looking at new markets for soya to counteract some of the bad press around it because it’s a great source of protein and a fantastic source of plant-based ingredients. With a big shift into plant-based meat alternatives, soya is very interesting for that market.”

It’s [soya] a great source of protein and a fantastic source of plant-based ingredients STEPHEN TRUTT

Scottish crop of the future JSoya is typically grown in the southern half of the country where temperatures are warmer, but a new study by Rothamsted Research has found that climate change will mean soya could be grown for profit as far north as the Scottish Borders within just a few decades.

Lead author Kevin Coleman says: “Our results suggest that by 2050 soybean should be a viable crop across most of England and south Wales.

“Yields would be enough to make it an economically

26 AF OSR p25 26 Soya AD TR RM.indd 3

attractive option for farmers, with the added benefits of reduced nitrogen fertiliser needs and the fact that soybean has very few pests or diseases here.”

Results Over three years the researchers grew 14 different varieties at two sites in England and then used modelling to extrapolate the results to 26 sites across the UK. The model was also used to predict how soybean would

mature and the associated yield using weather data under current, near-future (2041-60) and far-future (2081-2100) climate scenarios.

The analysis revealed that under the current climate, early developing varieties will mature in the south of the UK, but the probability of failure increases with latitude.

“Under climate change some of these varieties are likely to mature as far north as southern Scotland,” said Mr Coleman.

“With greater levels of CO2, yield is predicted to increase by as much as half a tonne per hectare at some sites in the far future, but this is tempered by other effects of climate change meaning that for most sites no meaningful increase in yield is expected.

“However, with climate change, varieties that mature later will become viable in the South and this will also have positive implications on yield potential.”

JUNE 2021 06/05/2021 14:29

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November 24-25, 2021 East of England Showground

Over 65% of stand space booked in Halls 1 & 2 Yara, Bayer, HORSCH UK, Agrifac, LG Seeds and NFU are among a host of returning sponsors and exhibitors for CropTec 2021. Meet a quality audience of arable decision makers and make valuable business connections by booking your stand today.

Seminar sponsorship opportunities available, including papers on soil health, crop protection, combatting environmental extremes and more.

Our audience has grown 67% over 5 years, with 21% farm business owners, 18% agronomists and 74% are the main decision-maker or influencer on farm.

Book with confidence. If CropTec doesn’t go ahead due to COVID-19, exhibitors have the option of a refund of stand fees or move to the new dates.

We choose to have a stand at CropTec specifically for sales leads; it’s an excellent platform to have face to face conversations with potential customers.

GARFORD FARM MACHINERY 2021 RETURNING EXHIBITOR

Book your stand from £1,251 07881 386 250 gareth.jones@agribriefing.com

www.croptec.com

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07/05/2021 10:15