Astrid continues to give consistent performance

OILSEED rape growers looking for consistent performance are continuing to find success with the low biomass variety Es Astrid.

Advising farmers in Norfolk and Suffolk, independent agronomist Dan Robinson said Astrid’s performance had been impressive over the years. Feedback from growers continued to be positive, he added.

“As far as many of my farmers are concerned, it is the variety’s consistency that has meant that they keep growing Astrid year after year. To be honest it takes some beating.”

Astrid had performed consistently well, said Mr Robinson. In HGCA trials in Suffolk, it gave consistent seed yields. “On farm last year, we were getting yields well over 5t/ha – but its oil content is marginally below some others.”

Another key advantage was Astrid’s low biomass. “This makes this variety very quick and easy to combine and means that farmers can get through many more acres in a day than with the taller varieties.”

Excellent Phoma disease resistance suited many East Anglian growers where rape was on a 1 in 2 rotation. High phoma resistance was also a major factor in selecting Astrid on a tight rotation.

Sentry Farm Manager John Benton, who farms on light land on Troston Farms, Suffolk, has grown Astrid for five years. It had always yielded consistently and well above the national average, giving an average 3.5 t/ha, he said.

“We grow approximately 110ha of Astrid each year on two farms under my management in Suffolk and we have been doing so for a number of years now. The variety has many good agronomic characteristics.

“Its disease resistance is excellent and means we only apply one autumn fungicide and one in the spring for Sclerotinia. Its canopy height is good which facilitates easy harvest which is important as we direct cut.”