Limagrain UK has launched Skyfall this spring; a new hybrid brassica for dairy and beef cattle that can provide two crops in a season. Sown between May and July, it will provide a highly nutritious leafy forage crop for grazing in 12 weeks. In trials Skyfall has produced between 30 and 35 tonnes/ha of a palatable soft-leaved forage. Where the crop is sown in the earlier part of the growing season, it can be grazed once and then closed up for regrowth before a second grazing period later in the season. 

“Skyfall has deep narrow roots, which means that it can thrive in drier soils through summer,” says Limagrain’s forage crop director Martin Titley. “This deep rooting system and the crop’s hybrid vigour supports regrowth, enabling it to ‘bounce back’ and provide a second grazing crop.

“For example, a crop sown in early May can be grazed by the end of July and into August before being closed up for six to eight weeks for regrowth. It can then be grazed – for a second time – in late September and October. “To maximise the ‘bounce back’ potential of this hybrid brassica, 30kg/ha to 40kg/ha of nitrogen should be applied to the crop after the first grazing,” adds Mr Titley.

Regrowth can also be maximised by back-fencing the initial crop, ensuring some leaf and growing points are retained to allow regrowth to occur.

This hybrid brassica is an ideal crop to use as part of a grass reseed programme, sown after first-cut silage or spring grazing. “Rather than reseed immediately, Skyfall can be sown and grazed through summer and autumn, and then followed with a grass reseed. This will provide a break in the grass crop that disrupts the pest cycle and provides a natural control system.”

Skyfall should be sown into a moist, fine seedbed at a rate of 5kg/ha. It will also benefit from applications of slurry and FYM prior to drilling.

Limagrain has introduced Skyfall for 2019 with limited supplies of seed. Further information is on the website: www.lgseeds.co.uk/skyfall

The definition of that variability is the gap between a variety’s genetic yield potential and the yield observed on-farm at harvest, which can be influenced by a considerable number of factors.

Environmental influence

The environment is the first major influence; namely, moisture and sunlight through the growing season. Secondly, the farm’s agronomic practices will also impact on how much of the theoretical yield potential is achieved. When these two are in the grower’s favour, with good weather allowing all inputs to be carried out in a correct and timely manner, actual performance should be close to the variety’s genetic potential.

However, extremes in weather that hinder crop development, timely operations, or pressures from pests and disease, can widen that gap considerably, says Limagrain’s European Portfolio Manager for oilseed rape; Dr. Vasilis Gegas.

This in-field variability can be exacerbated by fluctuations in commodity prices and input costs, so when yields and prices are low and costs are high, profitability can be slashed.

“Farmers are really concerned about this variability, and there are two ways that we are helping to control it through our breeding programme,” he adds.

Made in the UK

The first of these solutions is selecting varieties adapted to local environmental conditions at the earliest stage, so a variety spends many years – from the beginning of the breeding cycle all the way to National List trials, in the UK.

“Limagrain has a network  of trial sites around the UK for screening, making its varieties inherently more stable under UK conditions.”

“It allows us to weed out varieties that go up and down like a yoyo and ensure we only place the most stable into National List trials and subsequently into the market,” explains Dr. Gegas. The second area where breeders can help growers tackle yield instability is introducing genetics that makes a variety more resilient to the environmental and agronomic pressures, across a variety of seasons.

Mitigating oilseed rape variability

Yield variability caused by several environmental and agronomic factors:

• Commodity and input price fluctuations can hit profitability
• Breeders are “stacking” traits to help growers protect yield, in different seasons
• Pod shatter and Turnip yellows virus resistance is now standard in all Limagrain hybrids
• Clubroot and verticillium wilt resistance in 1-3 years
• All resistance traits will be in single varieties, without the ‘yield drag’ of past offerings

Limagrain is using precision breeding techniques to achieve this, and one example is ‘pod shatter resistance’, which is now standard in all LG’s hybrids.

Although the risk of untimely pod shatter won’t be high every year, this trait will provide good insurance if inclement weather does strike before the crop is safely in the shed. Pod shatter also protects from losses during harvest (as the header hits the crop) and also reduces the number of volunteers.

Turnip Yellows Virus

Similarly, Turnip yellows virus (TuYV) spread by Myzus persicae, is not endemic every season, but when aphid pressure is high and prolonged during the season, infection is difficult to prevent with foliar insecticides alone, and this can significantly penalise yield.

From introducing the trait in the variety; Amalie, in 2014 – which was less than 100% of controls on the Recommended List at the time – it is now standard in all Limagrain hybrids, and is included in Candidates; Ambassador and Aurelia, which both have significantly higher, competitive yield.

“When we started working with these traits, there was a trade-off – essentially, they were suppressing yield.” “Within five years, we moved from the bottom of the RL, with a TuYV resistant variety, to the top, by a country mile,” explains Dr. Gegas.

Disease resistance

Other traits built into the breeding programme include the RLM7 phoma resistance gene, which provides stable resistance scores of 7 or 8, and Limagrain does not offer varieties with a Light Leaf Spot score of below 6.

Dr. Gegas notes that phoma can be easily controlled with available chemistry, but Light Leaf Spot resistance is becoming increasingly important, as fungicide efficacy declines.

This, along with pod shatter and TuYV resistance all in one place, sees agronomic insurance built into Limagrain varieties, with inherently stable genetic yield potential for UK conditions.

“Examples include Ambassador and Aurelia, which are the first hybrids that really show the benefits of such a breeding strategy – inherently very high yield potential coupled with a bundle of traits that ensures growers shouldn’t lose yield in unfavourable conditions,” he adds.

Future traits

Looking ahead, Limagrain is focused on bringing clubroot and verticillium wilt resistance into its material.

A variety with high yield, which incorporates pod shatter, TuYV and clubroot resistance, is expected within the next year.

“Already, some of our hybrids are good on verticillium wilt, but we are working to develop traits that we can really call ‘resistance’, which are about 2-3 years away,” says Dr. Gegas.

Five years ago, barn-filling hard Group 4 wheat’s dominated cropping plans, but weak disease resistance, late maturity, and unflattering grain quality saw disillusioned growers move away from the likes of KWS Santiago, KWS Kielder, and Evolution.

There was a swing to quality wheats such as Crusoe and Skyfall, which at the time offered better disease resistance, good physical grain quality, and a potential milling premium, with comparable on-farm yields.

This trend has been reinforced by recent Group 2 additions, such as KWS Siskin, which has similar attributes, and has helped keep many traditional feed wheat growers away from Group 4 wheats on offer.

Limagrain UK’s arable technical manager, Ron Granger, says breeders have listened to the concerns surrounding Group  4’s, and evidence on the latest AHDB Recommended  List suggests they have been addressed.

Yields quality

“New addition, LG Skyscraper’s  fungicide treated yield is now  7% ahead of Skyfall, at 106%  of controls, making it the highest  yielding wheat on the  Recommended List overall.”

It is also significantly higher than other key varieties across nabim Groups, including KWS Siskin in Group 2, and KWS Barrel in Group 3 (see graph 1).

Mr. Granger says there have also been very noticeable improvements in average specific weight across soft and hard Group 4 wheats in recent seasons.

Soft Group 4’s, LG Skyscraper and LG Spotlight, have helped continue that trend further this year, with LG Spotlight having a high specific weight of 78.3kg/hl and LG Skyscraper – a solid 77.2kg/hl (see graph 2).

Also telling is the shift in maturity, with top yielding feed wheats on the 2013-14 Recommended List having later maturity ratings, between +2 and +4. Growers’ were expressing concerns that varieties were getting too late and this may have implications at harvest, in some regions.

“Breeders have now dragged back maturity to 0’s and +1’s, so any concerns – particularly for growers in the north – are no longer there,” explains Mr Granger.

Adding value

For feed growers, the attraction of the quality wheats currently dominating the UK wheat area, was the potential to fetch a premium if milling quality was achieved.

However, only a small percentage of growers achieve full specification for Group 1 milling wheats in most years, and obtain the maximum premiums.

While Group 2 wheats offer a higher yield potential, contracts often demand that specific protein content is achieved, and this is often unrealistic as present Group 2’s have a lower inherent protein content.

“With feed wheats now outclassing nabim Groups 1 and 2 for yield, the risks and costs associated with growing premium crops should be evaluated where a farm has traditionally grown feed wheat,” explains Mr. Granger.

He adds that there are now potential premiums on offer from high yielding soft feed wheats, such as LG Skyscraper and LG Spotlight.

Both are suitable for distilling and after further testing by independent millers, may be suitable for inclusion in biscuit grists and small premiums may be offered if desirable characteristics are identified.

LG Spotlight also offers exceptional grain quality, having a specific weight similar to JB Diego, combined with a very “stable” Hagberg of 290 – equivalent or better than most wheats on the Recommended List.

“This is a unique characteristic in a soft wheat, and combined with good sprouting resistance, offers growers a very secure variety when erratic weather patterns cause delays at harvest,” says Mr. Granger.

“Overall, the new feed wheat varieties from Limagrain offer high yield, good agronomic characteristics and excellent grain quality attributes, so perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate the place of feed wheats on your farm.” 

“Overall, the new feed wheat varieties from Limagrain offer high yield, good agronomic characteristics and excellent grain quality attributes, so perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate the place of feed wheats on your farm.”

Introducing conservation seed mixtures onto your farm brings many benefits, as well as providing an excellent source of nectar for bees and butterflies, or winter food for farmland birds.

Countryside stewardship

These crops can be gown within the Countryside Stewardship scheme, or if this doesn’t suit, you can still establish a network of small areas that will contribute to your farm’s diversity.

We have been undertaking some trials at our LG Innovation Site, to evaluate how different crop species grow compatibly together (or not!) and this work will help us formulate improved seed mixtures for the future.

Initial results show that some species can dominate a seed mixture, and therefore a good knowledge of seed numbers and proportions will help maximise crop output and ultimately wildlife benefits.

We have also produced a wall chart, which gives you a view of which seed mixtures are suitable for each Countryside Stewardship option. Email us: enquiries@limagrain.co.uk and receive your free copy.

Our range of seed mixtures and Countryside Stewardship options include:

• Bee Mixture Prolific flowering, for the AB1 option
• Flower Rich Margin Grass and wildflowers, for the AB8 option
• Pollen & Nectar 4 nectar-rich plants, for the AB1 option
• Jack Russell 1-year herbicide tolerant wild bird seed mixture, for AB9
• Bumblebird Autumn sown for birds and insects, suitable for AB16

Learn more about Conservation Crops – download your free brochure: lgseeds.co.uk/hibird

Poll positions across the 2019/20 AHDB Recommended List for Limagrain’s varieties

Want to find out more about some of the highest yielding cereals and oilseed rape varieties on the 2019/20 AHDB Recommended List? Then visit the Limagrain stand at this year’s Cereals Event, where breeders and arable experts will be on hand to answer any variety questions.

Limagrain’s soft wheat; LG Skyscraper, takes the prime position as the highest yielding wheat, with LG Spotlight sitting just behind. Oilseed rape, Aspire, sits at the top of the UK OSR Recommendations, based on its very high gross output, and winter barleys’, LG Flynn and LG Mountain, share the top position in the 2-row section.

Offering the unique genetic traits of both Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) and Barley Yellow Mosaic Virus tolerance (BaYMV), is 6-row winter barley; Rafaela.

“We are delighted that our focus on bringing high yielding varieties with additional traits, attractive to UK growers and end-use markets across the cropping sector, has come to fruition,” says Limagrain’s arable technical manager; Ron Granger.

Winter wheat; LG Skyscraper, tops the wheat table with a yield of 106%; 2% higher than hard wheats; RGT Gravity and Gleam, and offers grain quality characteristics of a large grain, combined with a good Hagberg falling number of 221 and a high specific weight of 77.2kg/hl, and is rated positive for distilling.

LG Skyscraper has a range of additional traits attractive to all feed wheat growers such as; a good disease resistance profile, early maturity and OWBM resistance. The variety’s good tillering and quicker growth in the spring, combined with its taller and larger biomass, can be beneficial in a black-grass situation.

LG Spotlight is a very high yielding soft feed wheat (104%), with exceptional grain quality. It has the highest Hagberg falling number of any soft wheat on the RL, approaching 300, with an excellent specific weight of 78.3kg/hl, offering sprouting resistance and suitability for distilling. LG Spotlight stands well and is OWBM resistant.

At the very top of the AHDB oilseed rape Recommended List for 2019/20, sits Aspire, with a UK gross output of 104%.

This conventional winter oilseed rape takes the leading position as the variety with the highest gross output for the east, west and northern regions, based on its high seed yield and high oil content of 45.8%.

Aspire also offers Turnip Yellows Virus (TuYV) resistance – the first time that a UK Recommended variety has offered both high yields and TuYV resistance. With good all round disease resistance, a 7 for light leaf spot, a 6 for phoma and good tolerance of Verticillium wilt, this should make Aspire the first choice variety for early drilling.

New OSR Candidates breaking the yield barrier

Limagrain has two very high yielding hybrid Candidates that are setting a new benchmark for OSR performance in the UK, whilst also offering resistance to TuYV and pod shatter.

LG Mountain is one of the highest yielding 2-row feed barley varieties available, at 104%, with a good all-round resistance profile combined with early maturity and BaYMV resistance.

“This barley represents a significant step forward in yield for 2-row barley varieties, over other commercial varieties, says senior breeder; Mark Glew. “We are really pleased with the consistency of yield over seasons and regions, and in treated and untreated trials – particularly in the east (105%) and north (105%).”

LG Mountain has good grain quality attributes, with a very good specific weight at 68.9kg/hl – similar to KWS Glacier, and is early to mature, which is valuable for growers looking to get an earlier harvest for WOSR establishment.

LG Flynn’s UK fungicide treated performance is 104%, against 103% for KWS Orwell, and is 6% over KWS Cassia’s 98%. The variety offers good straw strength, with a strong disease resistance package – including a 6 against Rhynchosporium and a 6 for Net Blotch.

“The standout attribute of LG Flynn is its high specific weight; at 69.8kg/hl, it has one of the highest specific weights available, similar to KWS Cassia, with low screening scores,” explains Mark Glew.

New BYDV tolerant Rafaela, is a 6-row conventional winter barley which also offers BaYMV tolerance.  The variety has very early spring development, a large plant canopy, tall straw and competes extremely well in the fight against black-grass.

There will be a prize draw to win 20ha of LG Spotlight or Aspire seed – visit the stand to find out more.

Limagrain is a fast-growing farmer-owned international co-operative group

As the fourth largest breeder and seeds marketing company in the world, Limagrain specialises in agricultural and horticultural seeds, as well as cereal products.

The company employs 10,000 people with an annual turnover in excess of 2.5 billion euros.

With a background in farming, and a Leeds University graduate in Agricultural Science, Mr. Tann has extensive experience of the arable sector in both technical and commercial roles, working for global companies; Monsanto and BASF.

Jonathan Tann, Limagrain UK’s new B.A.D.

During his time at BASF, he worked with the European Cereals Marketing team, held the position of Country Manager for the Nordic and Baltic Region and more recently, BASF’s UK Head of Sales.

According to Mr. Tann, “UK Agriculture is going through a revolutionary period, both technically and politically, with regulation and resistance presenting key challenges, yet at the same time this provides an exciting opportunity for genetic solutions – bringing varieties to market that offer increased yields, stronger agronomic characteristics, and better disease resistance, whilst end-users benefit from added value, improved quality, productivity and processability.”

“I believe that through its unique UK dedicated plant breeding and research teams, Limagrain is best placed of all the plant breeders to recognise and respond to many of these very issues now and over the next ten years, and I am excited and very much looking forward to leading this.” says Mr. Tann.

The hot dry summer in 2018 has encouraged farmers to look at a wider range of forage crops. The options are included in Limagrain’s 2019 Essential Guide to Forage Crops (see link below).

“We’ve seen more interest in summer forages recently, that can be sown from May to August,” says Martin Titley, Limagrain forage crops director.” Many dairy producers are interested in Lucerne and the guide highlights a new variety Mezzo that has a dormancy rating of 3.6, which means the crop can now be considered for more northerly areas of the UK.”

The new Essential Forage Guide ranks growing costs, sowing times and feed value for nine key forages. “Farmers can use this information and also refer to the varieties within each species, so they select those best suited to their specific growing conditions and uses,” adds Mr. Titley. “There are now more options available for farmers to consider.”

He draws attention to stubble turnips, hybrid brassicas and forage rape that can be used within 12 weeks of sowing. “Some varieties are suited to summer grazing by cattle – such as the hybrid brassica Skyfall, while the rape/kale hybrid Interval is an ideal forage for autumn and winter. And those looking for winter forages for sheep and lambs can take advantage of crops such as Samson stubble turnip or Rampart forage rape.”

Click the image below to download your copy

The hot, dry summer in 2018 suppressed yields in fodder beet crops compared with 2017, but the results of trials, carried out by Limagrain UK, showed up the variation in performance between varieties.

“We saw a reduction in average fresh yield of 13.4% – or 11.1 tonnes per hectare – from 82.8 tonnes per hectare in 2017 to 71.7 tonnes per hectare in 2018,” says Limagrain forage crops director Martin Titley.

“Average dry matter content also fell by 0.7% from 2017 levels to an average for the trial of 20.6%. This fall in yields was seen across all forage crops in the drier parts of the UK in 2018.”

But the trials, that have been carried out by Limagrain for the past 10 years and compare up to 25 varieties most typically used in the UK, showed up the advantages of newer varieties with improved genetics. “A number of these recently introduced varieties performed well above the control and set new benchmarks for the crop,” he adds.

“For example, the white-skinned variety Brick, that was introduced in 2017, had a very high dry matter yield 17% above the control variety Magnum, and an average dry matter yield of 21.4 tonnes per hectare, putting it among the best fodder beets available.”

Brick is deep-rooted with 75% of the root below ground, making it an ideal variety for anaerobic digestion or for lifting and using in livestock rations.

“Best-selling variety Robbos also held its own in the drier conditions in 2018,” says Mr. Titley. “This is a medium rooted variety that can be grazed in situ and it has a dry matter yield of 18.1 tonnes per hectare.

“We have carried out 18 separate trials with Robbos and it performs consistently, even in the drier conditions, which is why it is a favourite with those looking for a high energy feed for livestock. We’re seeing more cattle producers and sheep farmers grazing these fodder beet crops through autumn and winter.

“Despite an overall drop in yield in the 2018 results, we can see which varieties are performing best in drier conditions. This helps farmers to select the variety most suited to their conditions and the end use of the crop.”

Fodder beet is typically sown in April and is the highest dry matter and energy-yielding crop per hectare available among commonly grown forages in the UK.

Bred by Betaseed and marketed by Limagrain UK, BTS 4100 offers the highest sugar content of any sugar beet variety on the list at 18.4% and has produced these high sugar levels consistently over the last three years in Recommended List trials.

Ron Granger, sugar beet product manager at Limagrain UK, stated that in 2016, BTS 4100 yielded 18%, whilst the average sugar percentage across the RL trials was 17.7%. In 2017 when the national average was 18.4%, BTS 4100 yielded 0.6% more at 19%. In 2018, the national average was 17.8% and BTS 4100 again yielded 0.6% more, at 18.4%,”

Growers will recognise that on certain soil types or in difficult field conditions, high sugar content can be hard to achieve; in these situations, a variety such as BTS 4100 with a genetically high sugar content offers the best insurance for maximising full yield potential, as expressed in adjusted tonnes.

Along with these extremely high sugar levels, BTS 4100 offers high adjusted tonne yields of 101.8% -reflecting a step-up over some of the older varieties on the list.

However, whilst yield and sugar content are the top criteria for choosing a new sugar beet variety, factors such as establishment and bolting tolerance are also very important – particularly when deciding which variety is best for your situation.

For those looking to drill in the first half of March, in an attempt to get crops up and away to combat virus yellows infection, BTS 4100 fits this drilling slot very well. It has excellent bolting tolerance and is one of only a few varieties on the RL, that offers zero bolters when drilled in the normal sowing slot.

BTS 4100 features good emergence characteristics together with good tolerance to rust and Rhizomania.

In summary, BTS 4100 is a high yielding variety with the potential of achieving a top sugar percentage, and fits the early drilling slot.

Limagrain has introduced a new multispecies grass mixture this spring, specially designed for grazing swards for cattle and sheep. Part of its Sinclair McGill range, the new mixture, Castleherb, combines 40% grass species, with 30% each of legumes and herbs.

The grasses are made up of intermediate and late perennial ryegrasses; a Matrix-enhanced ryegrass that is mix of perennial ryegrass and meadow fescue with an extended grazing season and very rapid regrowth, and the early growing species Timothy that starts growing in early spring, before the ryegrasses, then has another growth surge in mid-summer when ryegrasses slow down.

Red and white clover varieties are included in the mixture and contribute to the mixture’s protein, trace elements and minerals feed value, as well as providing valuable nitrogen-fixing attributes typical of legumes. The legume content included in Castleherb reduces or eliminates the need for nitrogen applications.

Castleherb also includes the forage herbs; plantain and chicory. These herbs are deep-rooted, making them relatively drought-resistant and have the potential to draw up more minerals. They provide a mineral-rich feed that can enhance livestock health.

“This new mixture is scientifically formulated and embraces the complementary effect of combining different species,” says Limagrain grass seed manager, Ian Misselbrook.

“It is a four-year ley with a long growing season and low running costs. Like most multispecies mixtures, it needs limited or no fertiliser applications. And the combination of species provides a protein, trace element, and mineral-rich feed.”

Trial work shows that these types of mixtures can improve voluntary intakes by livestock and result in livestock performance comparable with that seen from grass leys receiving up to 250kg of nitrogen per hectare.

“Multispecies mixtures have an increasingly important part to play in sustainable, environmentally-friendly livestock systems,” adds Mr. Misselbrook. “And the latest mixtures, like Castleherb, have the potential to achieve livestock performance at least on par with grazed grass-only leys.”

The suggested seed rate for Castleherb is 27kg/ha to 32kg/ha, sown into a fine seedbed, either in spring or autumn, when enough moisture is available.

This conventional winter oilseed rape takes the leading position as the variety with the highest gross output on both the east, west, and northern list, based on its seed yield of 10% and its very high oil content of 45.8%. However, what is so exciting about Aspire is that it also offers Turnip Yellows Virus (TuYV) resistance – the first time that a Recommended variety has been able to offer both high yields and TuYV resistance.

Turnip Yellows Virus (TuYV)

Predominantly carried and spread by the peach potato aphid (Myzus persicae), the presence of TuYV in crops can be betrayed by a number of symptoms.

This includes reddening of leaf margins, purple colouring of leaf margins and interveinal yellowing and reddening. But it is often symptomless.

Under very severe infection, TuYV can cause stunting of the plants, resulting in up to 30% yield loss and is estimated to cost the industry between £67m-£180m each year. However, at lower levels most goes undetected.

University of Warwick’s John Walsh says TuYV is a “hidden problem”, with growers often unaware that crops are infected, as it occurs across fields and is often wrongly attributed to problems such as nutrient deficiency.

The first TuYV resistant conventional variety, Amalie gained its full recommendation back in 2017 as a special category but, Amalie’s yields did not match up to any of the non-resistant varieties.

“When we started working with traits such as TuYV there was a trade-off – essentially, they were suppressing yield, says Vasilis Gegas, Limagrain’s OSR European portfolio manager.

“But we have worked really hard to address this and within five years, we have moved from the bottom of the list with a TuYV resistant variety, to the top by a country mile,” explains Dr. Gegas.

“Every year we run a national TuYV survey with a range of industry partners; we test oilseed rape leaves from selected sites and the final results of this will be available mid-May. However, all the signs are looking like this year could be a potentially high TuYV infection year, as the mild autumn meant that aphid numbers were high.

David Leaper, Agrii

David Leaper, Agrii’s OSR specialist, has monitored the levels of TuYV infection in the Agrii national trials network in collaboration with Limagrain.

“Over the past two years across 12 sites, TuYV infection was detected at levels ranging from 20%-95% – which shows that TuYV is clearly endemic across the whole OSR acreage.”

Levels of TuYV infection were higher in 2017 compared with 2018, but it’s key to note that in both years the levels were linked to aphid activity in the autumn, he adds.

“In last year’s trials which were taken to yield, Aspire performed at 104% of controls, which is in line with its Recommended List performance.”

“However, on half of the sites where the incidence of the virus was above 50%, Aspire’s yields increased to 111% of the controls, suggesting that the TuYV trait delivers roughly a 6% lift in yield.”

Although responses will differ every year depending on the level of infection, he notes.

When growers are looking closely at varieties, it makes sense to take advantage of genetic traits like TuYV that protect yield and bring the unit cost of production down, he says.

“At the end of the day buying a variety with traits is no more expensive than one that doesn’t have as many”

Aspire also comes with an excellent agronomic package; in the field, it’s not too tall, in fact, it is the shortest variety available on the AHDB RL with a stem stiffness rating of 9.

With good all round disease resistance, a 7 for light leaf spot resistance and a 6 for phoma and good tolerance of Verticillium wilt, it makes it the first choice variety for early drilling.

OSR Candidates breaking the yield barrier

Limagrain has two very high yielding hybrid candidates that are setting a new benchmark for OSR performance in the UK, whilst also offering resistance to TuYV and pod shatter.

Limagrain UK is launching Unicorn, a new rape kale hybrid brassica, this month. Bred by Limagrain, Unicorn is a fast-growing leafy catch crop. It is backed with outstanding results from UK trials that place it as one of the best performing rape kale hybrid brassicas available to UK livestock producers.

Energy values of 11.2 MJ per kilo of dry matter producing 49,500 MJ per hectare and dry matter content of 12.4% were recorded in trials carried out at Limagrain UK’s Lincolnshire site in 2018. The dry matter yield was 11% above the control variety.

“These yields were recorded in the dry conditions of 2018,” says Limagrain’s forage crop director, Martin Titley. “Crops were sown in May and harvested in November. While many other forage crops struggled in the dry conditions, Unicorn coped with the drier conditions and ranks as one of the top rape kale hybrid varieties for key parameters, such as yield and energy content, alongside the established rape kale hybrid variety, Interval.

Unicorn can be sown from May until late August – either by direct drilling at five to six kilograms per hectare, or broadcasting at six to seven kilograms per hectare. The crop should be ready for grazing within 14 weeks.

“It’s an ideal variety to include in a grassland rotation or for sowing after cereals in July or August. And it offers an ideal feed for finishing lambs, or for ewes or dairy cattle in late summer to early winter.”

As a hybrid brassica, it’s easy to grow and benefits from farmyard manure or a slurry application pre-sowing. If these aren’t available, then 60kg to 90kg of nitrogen with 25kg each of potassium and phosphate per hectare, can be applied.

“We’re seeing significant interest in rape and kale hybrids because of their flexible sowing period and high feed values,” adds Mr. Titley. “Unicorn is an attractive addition for this summer as conditions to date are dry. Like Interval, it has some tolerance to Alternaria and Mildew.”