Innovation in oilseed rape is far from dead with a raft of new traits and combinations finding their way into a new generation of high performance oilseed rape varieties, says DSV UK’s Sarah Hawthorne.
Oilseed rape has had a rough ride in recent years but there are very definitely signs that the tide is turning with grower’s confidence in the crop on the rise.
Those that have stuck with the crop have learned a lot about managing key stages of its growth and varieties have definitely got stronger in recent years which has helped considerably.
But there is now a range of exciting developments coming to the market which will make the crop an even more attractive option in the future.
Quad-layered DSV Matrix CL, for example, has just been included in the AHDB Candidate List for 2021/22, and represents a huge step forward in breeding innovation being the first variety to stack four complex traits together without compromising yield.
A Clearfield winter oilseed rape variety, Matrix CL allows the grower to choose powerful post emergence Clearfield chemistry without facing the potential drop in performance shown in the previous generations of varieties.
It’s the first UK Clearfield variety to combine TuYV resistance with pod shatter resistance and RLM7+ resistance to stem canker completing its complex four layer disease and yield protection features.
Matrix CL is not only the highest yielding Clearfield variety currently available to UK growers, it is one of only a few varieties selected as a candidate for the whole of the UK making it suitable for growing in both the North, and East and West regions.
DSV Dart is another new variety introducing significant genetic technology to the UK oilseed rape market.
RL-listed DSV Dart is a high yielder that has performed well across UK trials, but with particularly impressive results in the East and West regions with a gross output of 113% and an oil content of 45.7%.
DSV Dart offers protection from the growing threat of TuYV as well as featuring RLM7+ multi-gene resistance to stem canker, strong verticillium wilt tolerance plus high resistance to light leaf spot with a score of 6.”
DSV Dart apart is also the first variety to carry DSV’s Harvest Max yield protection technology specifically developed to give a new level of defense against harvest challenges.
By combining DSV’s longest and largest pods bred to date with new pod features alongside a short and compact canopy structure, DSV Dart can be quickly and efficiently combined with minimum seed loss.
DSV Duplo is another exciting new variety featuring the highest vigour yet in a triple-layered oilseed rape making it a strong, high yielding variety suitable for all areas of the UK.
DSV Duplo has again been added to the AHDB Candidate List for 2021, with an exceptional oil content of 46.8% and a yield of 109% for the East and West region.
It’s the perfect variety for modern production with real ‘get up and go’ in both the autumn and spring for the strongest competition against weed and pest threats, allied to an unbeatable agronomic package and yield potential.
DSV’s development of high N-efficiency varieties also continues apace with the latest of these being DSV Duke.
DSV Duke has already won the accolade of being the ADAS YEN’s best established crop in its 2020/21 initiative with a crop drilled on 25th August 2020 achieving the highest score for establishment at 89%.
The variety has achieved significant success in several European countries and is a high yielding variety with excellent oil content of 45.6%.
A triple layered variety, it has TuYV protection, pod-shatter resistance and the RLM7 gene for stem canker resistance which, added to its powerful autumn vigour, makes DSV Duke a must for growers planting into higher risk situations.
With a very high N-efficiency supported by impressive scores this year thanks to its extensive rooting system, DSV Duke has also shown exceptional vigour in the spring, making a quick start to grow away from other varieties.
Such varieties not only give growers new levels of security when it comes to growing oilseed rape in the next few years, they also underline DSV’s commitment to oilseed rape for the long-term.