With the challenging harvest period delaying oilseed rape sowing in many parts of the country, high vigour hybrid variety DSV Duplo is one of the UK's best choices for growers having to drill into September, says DSV trials manager Andrew Hartley.
Choosing a variety with good vigour, getting seed-bed preparation right and paying attention to plant population will be critical to ensure late-drilled crops get off to the best possible start, he says.
"DSV Duplo has the strongest autumn establishment of all the DSV triple layered varieties with this outstanding autumn vigour.
"It's going to grow away quickly once drilled and go on to deliver exceptional performance and consistent gross output in a range of locations and growing conditions."
To get the most out of the variety, Andrew Hartley recommends taking care with cultivations and following some basic principles.
“Good cultivations help the tap root develop its optimum potential, resulting in strong plants, and this is the best protection against pests and diseases possible. DSV Duplo has proved to be a good performer in non-inversion tillage trials, too.
"Adequate drainage is important but you need to try and preserve residual soil moisture as much as possible and aim for good seed to soil contact. Some consolidation of the seedbed is, therefore, a good idea."
Seed rates should be geared to achieving about 25-35 plants/sq m for good overwintering, he advises.
“Crops with 25 plants/sq m yield better than crops sown at higher densities. This holds true even if the plant holds just three to four true leaves through the winter.
"Check for pests immediately after establishment and wait for good growing conditions before applying any herbicides.
"Follow the basics and your late-drilled crop of DSV Duplo will soon catch up with other earlier drilled varieties and go on to produce strong, well-structured plants in the spring with a very high yield potential."
Beckii Gibbs of United Oilseeds says DSV Duplo's resilience and yield consistency is well established with its sheer 'get up and go' one of its main attractions.
"DSV Duplo ticks all the boxes required for later drilling with its exceptional vigour proven in very challenging conditions across Europe over several years.
"This is supported by Turnip Yellow Virus (TuYV) resistance, pod shatter resistance, and RLM 7+ multigene resistance to phoma stem canker making it a very robust variety and a great choice for UK growers.
