OSR / BUCKWHEAT

[Jonathanturner1]

Evening all
We are looking at mixing buckwheat with osr this year . I no everybody has there opinions etc but seems a cheap(ish) option to try ! And we have to try something . I only have one hopper , how are people getting on mixing the two together ? Wondering how they flow out etc ! Only other option is to broadcast the buckwheat on and roll in ? Cheers in advance !

 

[Boysground]

Interested to see what people say. I’m trying the same but planning to just mix it as best I can in the drill. I’ve done the same with cover crop seeds and they seem to mix ok.

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[teslacoils]

Why not broadcast it first, then mix it in while drilling the osr then? All mixed, all rolled.

 

[DangerRanger]

I mix all my various seed mixes in a cement mixer, it’s slow but it makes a really good job. I am mixing my OSR with buckwheat and Berseem clover this year.

 

[Agriimark]

Possibly broadcast a field then drill, then next field try mixing the best you can in the hopper and compare the two. Would be interesting to compare them both.

 

[PSQ]

As a green manure or as a companion crop?
I’d have thought the buckwheat would smother out the OSR, given it’s a very short 11 week life cycle from planting to senescence.

 

[Jonathanturner1]

As a companion crop .

 

[Droplet]

Watching with interest as hoping to do same.

 

[Adeptandy]

Will these be Clearfield or conventional/hybrid varieties ?

 

[radar]

Have a fantastic volunteer OSR population growing under a Buckwheat, mustard, Phacelia, millet etc cover crop.
Might be something in hiding it.

 

[Adeptandy]

Worked fr me last year hiding it all winter under S Barley volunteers, only problem is its now very short and still green

 

[juke]

get the buckwheat in with the rape, you wont smother the rape out , plant roughly 4 to 5 kg jobs done, the first cold of the winter will take the buckwheat out very sensitive to temperature .
when it comes to companion cropping it depends what you wish to achieve as to what you want to include in the mix

 

[PSQ]

I’m guessing OSR pre-em’s are a no no with buckwheat?

 

[juke]

I’m guessing OSR pre-em’s are a no no with buckwheat?

Wouldn't be recomended

 

[DanniAgro]

This year I'll be mostly trying buckwheat and fenugreek as companion crops with the rape, fenugreek because it's supposed to have an odour that confuses the little bugers before they land. I tried burseem clover mixed with the rape last year, but I think the clover seed is too small to get to the surface if the rape is drilled at 25mm, so it's being dropped this time.

 

[Jonathanturner1]

This year I'll be mostly trying buckwheat and fenugreek as companion crops with the rape, fenugreek because it's supposed to have an odour that confuses the little bugers before they land. I tried burseem clover mixed with the rape last year, but I think the clover seed is too small to get to the surface if the rape is drilled at 25mm, so it's being dropped this time.

Thanks for that ! Do you mix all three together ?

 

[DanniAgro]

No - I stupidly thought that the small seeded burseem could be planted along with the rape, but as I said, it didn't come up.
So after researching the seed size and going by ADAS research, I'll be mixing the buckwheat and fenugreek with the rape. This should be better as both are the same or bigger than the rape, and mean that they should be able to emerge from the same depth.
Just realised that you meant the buckwheat, fenugreek and rape rather than the three companion seeds.

 

[Jonathanturner1]

No - I stupidly thought that the small seeded burseem could be planted along with the rape, but as I said, it didn't come up.
So after researching the seed size and going by ADAS research, I'll be mixing the buckwheat and fenugreek with the rape. This should be better as both are the same or bigger than the rape, and mean that they should be able to emerge from the same depth.
Just realised that you meant the buckwheat, fenugreek and rape rather than the three companion seeds.

That’s what I’m planning on doing too ! What sort of k/g ha are you going for ? I’m new to all this companion crop milark haha !

 

[DanniAgro]

That’s what I’m planning on doing too ! What sort of k/g ha are you going for ? I’m new to all this companion crop milark haha !

Unfortunately I'm a beginner too, so can't say for sure what rate to use with any authority. However, the merchant I contacted told me to try 2.5kg per hectare of fenugreek, and I would think that the same rate of buckwheat wouldn't be too wide of the mark.
Of course, if anyone thinks that's wrong please correct my thoughts.
The other thing to consider is that that some the companions might do better if they've planted up to seven days before the rape. This is the advice of the researchers in this field anyway, but I don't think I can do this because of the logistics. I suppose the thinking is that the companions emerge well before the rape, offering it protection from the moment it emerges.

 

[DanniAgro]

Fenugreek seems a good idea, but I haven't ordered any yet, so am in the dark about its cost. Buckwheat used to be expensive but has come down in price a lot, so if fenugreek is ridiculously expensive, which is possible as it hasn't been used as a companion crop before, I may just use buckwheat.