Foliar nutrient boosts oilseed rape yields
A FOLIAR nutrient treatment has helped boost oilseed rape yields in Cambridgeshire.
Will Nichols, of TJ Nichols, grows 140ha of oilseed rape at Home Farm, Bythorn,. He decided to give his oilseed rape a final push last season because the crop had looked so good all through spring.
Mr Nichols applied a foliar nutrient product called Oilseed Extra at the early pod stage just as the flowers were disappearing. He combined the Omex product with a fungicide and an insecticide on 21 May.
Applied at 100l/ha, with 100l/ha of water, up to 80% of his oilseed rape crops were treated. Total fertiliser applied to the crop that season, including Oilseed Extra, was 220kgN/ha.
Hutchinson agronomist Alex Wilcox said: “Rather than treating the crop as a secondary part of the rotation, as we may have done in the past, we thought that it was a good opportunity to push it a bit harder.”
The farm’s 6-10 year average yield for oilseed rape is over 3t/ha. By relying on the combine’s yield meter, Mr Nichols said was able to accurately gauge any differences in crop performance from the treatment.
“The difference in performance between treated and untreated crops varied from a minimum of 0.25t/ha, up to a maximum of 0.62t/ha, and overall these areas looked much more lush than untreated areas.
“Some of our best yields over a weighbridge last season topped 1.8t/ac and, while I’m not sure if it’s all down to Oilseed Extra, it has certainly helped as that is an exceptional yield for us.”
Costing around £16/ha last year, applying the product with a standard fungicide meant no extra passes through the crop. With a benefit of up to £150/ha the investment more than covered itself, said Mr Nichols.
As was the case last year, this season sees early maturing hybrid Excalibur as the key variety on the farm. But a difficult autumn this time around means Mr Nichols will pick and choose where he applies Oilseed Extra.
“We missed the moisture on the last 20ha drilled in the autumn and about 15% of the crop is very average. You tend to know by their look as to which crops have the potential, and therefore are worth treating.”
Omex agronomist Andy Eccles said increased rates of provided an enhanced response. In the past, 100l/ha of Oilseed Extra was recommended, but the most cost effective response in trials was doubled that amount.
“Our trials have also compared Oilseed Extra with straight foliar nitrogen and shown around twice the yield increase can be achieved compared to a simple foliar urea product.”