Winter oilseed rape varieties for 2016

When choosing an oilseed variety from the Recommended List you will consider a balance of features  and should think about disease resistance as well as yield. Stem stiffness and maturity are also part of a balance of agronomic features that can make a variety more or less appealing than any other with a comparable gross output. The gross output figure is a combination of yield and oil content for which there is a useful bonus. Hybrid varieties can offer extra vigour at emergence with the possibility that this might let the crop grow away from issues such as flea beetles and slugs more successfully in marginal situations but in terms of yield conventional varieties are just as good. Light leaf spot is becoming harder to control with fungicides and is a highly adaptable pathogen so a robust rating for that disease is very important. Six is the minimum resistance for a variety to make it on to the recommended list for the north so look for higher than this if you can.

Recommended oilseed rape varieties are:

1. Hybrids:  Alizze (new), SY Harnas,  DK Explicit, Incentive, PT234 and Mentor (this last option is a clubroot resistant variety)
2. Conventional Varieties: Anastasia, Barbados (new), Campus and Nikita (new)
3. Semi Dwarfs: Troy
4. High Oleic Low Linolenic Variety: V316 OL (Hybrid)
5. Clearfield Variety DK Imagis CL

The thumb nail sketches shown below provide you with an idea of the strengths and weakness of the varieties.

Hybrids

Alizze. New on the recommended list with a gross output 111%. A high yielding hybrid variety that did well in 2015. It has average resistance to lodging and is of medium maturity  with good light leaf spot resistance being one of the few on the list that are rated as a 7.

SY Harnas.  A gross output of 111% in RL trials and a four year mean of 114% so very consistent. SY Harnas has good agronomics, being stiff and short, but has a minimum 6 rating for light leaf spot.

DK Explicit. Gross output of 108% in 2015. Very like Incentive in terms of agronomics but is slightly stiffer. It is also a a minimum 6 rating for light leaf spot resistance.

Incentive. Gross output 108% in 2015, 110% in 2014 and 107% in 2013. Has medium maturity and is relatively tall but stiff strawed. Is a minimum 6 rating for light leaf spot resistance but poor for stem canker.

PT234. Gross output of 107% so starting to lag behind the hybrids at the top of this list but agronomically it is slightly earlier to mature. Otherwise similar with average straw strength and a minimum 6 rating for light leaf spot.

Mentor. Gross output 103% which is a 10 point improvement on Cracker. Recommended for its clubroot tolerance. Agronomically very similar to most varieties on the list in terms of height and maturity which are all average but it is slightly stiffer than many. It is rated 6 for light leaf spot.

Conventional Varieties

Anastasia. Gross output of 110% in 2015 and 114% in 2014 and a consistently high yielder. Of similar maturity, height and stem stiffness to most varieties on the list. It has a minimum 6 rating for light leaf spot resistance.

Barbados. New on the recommended list with a gross output of 110% and of similar height and stem stiffness to most varieties on the list although slightly later maturing. It has an advantage over Alizze in terms of having a 7 rating for light leaf spot.

Campus. A gross output of 110% in 2015 when it was new on the list which was the same as in the previous year’s trials so relatively consistent. Agronomically it is very similar to other varieties on the list being of average height and stiffness with the same minimum 6 rating for light leaf spot to many others.

Nikita. New on the list for 2015 with a gross output of 110%. Agronomically it is very similar to other varieties on the list being of shorter than average height and of average stiffness but it has the advantage of a 7 rating for light leaf spot.

Semi Dwarf Variety

Troy. Gross output of 97% in 2015 and 100% 2013-14 trials so declining in relative terms. A semi-dwarf hybrid specifically recommended for those wanting a short stiff stemmed variety for ease of combining. The same minimum 6 rating for light leaf spot as many others.

High Oleic Low Linolenic Variety

V316 OL is a high yielding hybrid for a specialised use, with a gross output of 109% in 2015 trials and 115% in 2013-14 RL trials. It has an average set of agronomics in terms of maturity, stiffness and height and a minimum 6 rating for light leaf spot.

Clearfield Variety

DK Imagis. A Clearfield variety with a gross output of 103% in 2015 trials which is relatively poorer than in 2013-14 trials when is was 108%. It has an average set of agronomics and a minimum 6 score for light leaf spot. Clearfield varieties should only be grown where any volunteers can be controlled by means other than ALS inhibitor herbicides.

Fiona Burnett, Crop & Soil Systems, SRUC