Growing oilseeds for the market: a new technical guide for growers & agronomists

As part of its pledge to help growers earn a sustainable return from the market, seed breeder Limagrain has produced a new oilseeds technical guide to help growers select the most appropriate variety for the coming season.

The oilseeds guide is the latest in the ‘Growing for the market’ series, which already covers wheat, spring barley and pulse crops, and shows how variety selection can be critical to a securing a good return.

“With oilseeds there is less diversification of traits needed for the available end markets, so that any variety will go into any market, with the exception of HEAR (High Erucic Acid Rape)and HOLL (High Oleic Low Linolenic) varieties. This means that the oilseed grower is free to make a variety choice based entirely on yield, agronomic characteristics and on farm suitability – and this guide is based on these factors,”  says Les Daubney, oilseeds product manager for Limagrain.

“As breeders we are best placed to offer this information using data collected from a range of our own farmer and independent trials, as well as that from official trials performed by the HGCA. This guide intends to make this process as simple and straightforward as possible, and is centred around a comprehensive table that illustrates the yield comparisons, agronomic characteristics, seed quality and disease resistance of Limagrain’s key winter and spring oilseed rape and linseed varieties.”

“For example, it is clear to see from the yield data in the winter oilseeds table, that the new top performing conventional winter oilseed rape Anastasia, which is recommended for the HGCA north region, has consistently outperformed hybrid varieties in trials yielding 106% over controls. Anastasia’s robust disease resistance profile is clear and alongside agronomic characteristics such as good resistance to lodging, and early flowering it makes it an attractive variety for the whole of the northern region – anywhere north of the Humber Bridge!”

Available free to growers the guides can be ordered as paper copies from Laura Davey on 01472 370151 or downloaded from the group’s website (www.limagrain.co.uk).