Optimum to sow rape

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Just above knew height now! It won’t stop growing.
 

chickens and wheat

Member
Mixed Farmer
Last year my osr was the only field in the local area. This year my neigbour has 90 acres adjoining my 25. Lets see if the mass if it makes a difference. His is patchier due to lots of volunteer barley so hoping pigeons go there for the easier landings. Mine followed fallow so very clean seedbed
 

Gedd

Member
Livestock Farmer
Sown 10th august think its away from slugs snd flea beetle now a couple of barish patches though
 

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8 Ace

Member
We have taken a different approach to what seems to be the mainstream of getting rape drilled as early as possible and therefore taking advantage of a longer warm spell in the summer to get robust growth and large plants going into the winter to beat csfb and slugs. Since the neonic ban, what we recognised as the main sowing period of say 25th august to early september became the wrong time as csfb just became uncontrollable so the options were to sow either early or late to avoid the main csfb migration (or not bother at all). What stops us going for early drilling is the experience over 40 years that large osr crops going into the winter may look magnificent at this time of the year but seemed to get knocked back over winter and somehow lose their vigour and never really yielded as well as more modest crops drilled in perhaps the first day or two in september. In 2020 we drilled the osr on 16th september and the crop did get going but was small overwinter. It picked up in the spring and yielded 4.5t/ha. Late drilling relies on a variety that is deemed to have high autumn and spring vigour, (DK Extrovert in our case) and bit of nerve as the little plants struggle to get big enough to survive the winter as temperatures drop and day length shortens but the crop seems to come alive in the spring and motors on. This years crop was drilled 13th september and is just starting to get some true leaves now. There is a bit of csfb damage and we are on constant slug patrol but with a warm spell forecast in the next few days I am hoping the crop will get large and tough enough to survive the winter. Part of the package is that very few inputs go onto the crop until late in the autumn so we can make a delayed decision as to whether the crop is viable and if it is not then all we have lost really is the cost of the seed.
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
We have taken a different approach to what seems to be the mainstream of getting rape drilled as early as possible and therefore taking advantage of a longer warm spell in the summer to get robust growth and large plants going into the winter to beat csfb and slugs. Since the neonic ban, what we recognised as the main sowing period of say 25th august to early september became the wrong time as csfb just became uncontrollable so the options were to sow either early or late to avoid the main csfb migration (or not bother at all). What stops us going for early drilling is the experience over 40 years that large osr crops going into the winter may look magnificent at this time of the year but seemed to get knocked back over winter and somehow lose their vigour and never really yielded as well as more modest crops drilled in perhaps the first day or two in september. In 2020 we drilled the osr on 16th september and the crop did get going but was small overwinter. It picked up in the spring and yielded 4.5t/ha. Late drilling relies on a variety that is deemed to have high autumn and spring vigour, (DK Extrovert in our case) and bit of nerve as the little plants struggle to get big enough to survive the winter as temperatures drop and day length shortens but the crop seems to come alive in the spring and motors on. This years crop was drilled 13th september and is just starting to get some true leaves now. There is a bit of csfb damage and we are on constant slug patrol but with a warm spell forecast in the next few days I am hoping the crop will get large and tough enough to survive the winter. Part of the package is that very few inputs go onto the crop until late in the autumn so we can make a delayed decision as to whether the crop is viable and if it is not then all we have lost really is the cost of the seed.
I think with the warm soil temps your OSR will fly over the next couple of weeks, good luck.
 

8 Ace

Member
The autumn nitrogen debate is one that goes on and on but my choice is to not put autumn nitrogen on despite agronomic advice to the contrary. There are small plants in the ground and we want them to get strong enough for the winter but we do not want frothy growth. When we have applied nitrogen in the past at this time of the year (or usually earlier) we have ended up with a greener, larger but more frost sensitive crop and it has ultimately been counter productive in my opinion. Again, I am aware that is not mainstream practice how to grow osr. I suspect though with the spiralling cost of nitrogen fewer crops will get any autumn N.
Just a word on pigeons. 30 years ago we seemed to attract huge flocks of ravenous pigeons onto varieties like Jet Neuf and Bienveue. In the last 15 years, as we have grown mainly hybrids, often the DK varieties pigeon damage has become much less of an issue. We don`t seem to see the huge flocks of wood pigeons any more that were like locusts and I believe the modern hybrids are less palatable. Having said that, slug patrol eventually becomes pigeon patrol and I don`t want temp fate but pigeon damge seems to be much less serious when growing osr than it once was
 

Pilatus

Member
Location
cotswolds
We have taken a different approach to what seems to be the mainstream of getting rape drilled as early as possible and therefore taking advantage of a longer warm spell in the summer to get robust growth and large plants going into the winter to beat csfb and slugs. Since the neonic ban, what we recognised as the main sowing period of say 25th august to early september became the wrong time as csfb just became uncontrollable so the options were to sow either early or late to avoid the main csfb migration (or not bother at all). What stops us going for early drilling is the experience over 40 years that large osr crops going into the winter may look magnificent at this time of the year but seemed to get knocked back over winter and somehow lose their vigour and never really yielded as well as more modest crops drilled in perhaps the first day or two in september. In 2020 we drilled the osr on 16th september and the crop did get going but was small overwinter. It picked up in the spring and yielded 4.5t/ha. Late drilling relies on a variety that is deemed to have high autumn and spring vigour, (DK Extrovert in our case) and bit of nerve as the little plants struggle to get big enough to survive the winter as temperatures drop and day length shortens but the crop seems to come alive in the spring and motors on. This years crop was drilled 13th september and is just starting to get some true leaves now. There is a bit of csfb damage and we are on constant slug patrol but with a warm spell forecast in the next few days I am hoping the crop will get large and tough enough to survive the winter. Part of the package is that very few inputs go onto the crop until late in the autumn so we can make a delayed decision as to whether the crop is viable and if it is not then all we have lost really is the cost of the seed.
What sort of altitude is your farm,,what sort of soil, north or south facing banks.
The above make such a difference if late sowing ,especially autumn planted rape.
 
Early sown especially with any form of N needs stunning here. Lots of very small backward rape in this area as well due to high price late sowing and drought conditions. recent moisture and if like last few years mild Oct/ November then they will come good. Osr flowering in December may be different.
 

Renaultman

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Darlington
Early sown especially with any form of N needs stunning here. Lots of very small backward rape in this area as well due to high price late sowing and drought conditions. recent moisture and if like last few years mild Oct/ November then they will come good. Osr flowering in December may be different.
My early down stuff looks very very hungry, tramlines, and N overlaps look superb but the rest is starting to suffer.
 

8 Ace

Member
What sort of altitude is your farm,,what sort of soil, north or south facing banks.
The above make such a difference if late sowing ,especially autumn planted rape.
We farm on the Mid - Lincolnshire Fen so we are dead flat and not much above sea level - maybe a metre. Mainly a heavy clay farm with a few pockets of better silt. The heavy land is fertile and productive for osr if you can beat the slugs and blackgrass.
 

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