Thinning thick rape

[Flintstone]

I’ve read various suggestions over the years, but wondering if there is a reliable way to thin out thick and forward rape.

The forwardness doesn’t worry me so much, but it is quite thick. It’s conventional, and the seed rate was kept up to allow for CSFB/slug losses etc, but it ended up all growing through that wet spell.

I recall reading on here some time ago about someone going through with glypho with every other nozzle blocked off, and a low pressure (1 bar) on low drift nozzles. Perhaps the same concept but with liquid fertiliser stream nozzles to guarantee no drift between nozzles?

This would certainly thin it, and give 50cm gaps for it to branch out into in the Spring.

Any other ideas?

 

[Badshot]

Graze it off with sheep.
That'll even it up, and have the added benefit of removing diseased leaves and flea beetle larvae.
But make sure you actively manage the grazing and don't poach it into oblivion.

 

[Flintstone]

Thanks for the suggestion @Badshot
Would that actually thin it out though, or just take leaf off, so when it grows away in the Spring there would be the same plant numbers?

I feel I need to reduce the plant numbers to give it space to branch out more in the Spring, and to help yield.

 

[Farmer Roy]

Sheep

 

[Farmer Roy]

More takers for grazing canola | Meat & Livestock Australia

Dual-purpose crops have earned their keep across southern Australia this year. As the grazing window starts to close read producer John Jeffrey's tactics to make the most of grazing canola, wheat and barley.

www.mla.com.au

 

[bobk]

Pigeons

 

[Tamar]

Well done for getting your rape to grow.

Mine was all eaten by flea beetles and slugs, but now guess I don't have the problem of over thick crop that I'm worried about !!

 

[Gong Farmer]

Well done for getting your rape to grow.

Mine was all eaten by flea beetles and slugs, but now guess I don't have the problem of over thick crop that I'm worried about !!

I'm sure the OP could make a killing selling his excess plants. Just need a bit of time with a trowel.

 

[Flintstone]

Well done for getting your rape to grow.

Mine was all eaten by flea beetles and slugs, but now guess I don't have the problem of over thick crop that I'm worried about !!

Thanks, but it was more luck than judgement to be honest with you.

 

[yellowbelly]

Graze it off with sheep.
That'll even it up, and have the added benefit of removing diseased leaves and flea beetle larvae.
But make sure you actively manage the grazing and don't poach it into oblivion.

Sheep

Our local regenerative farming pioneers are talking about us grazing this.....

... not a great pic, but it's a field of self set osr. Was rape last year and nothing has been done in there since the combine left.

No seed cost, no fert, no spray and no flea beetle damage (well, not enough to have thinned it out at - I expect there's that many plants there the poor little beetles just choked to death).

Apparently, it will be grazed at some point during the winter.

Who knew? Continuous rape - all you need is to establish a crop once and you're quids in for the next few years

 

[DieselRob]

Our local regenerative farming pioneers are talking about us grazing this.....
View attachment 1138780
... not a great pic, but it's a field of self set osr. Was rape last year and nothing has been done in there since the combine left.

No seed cost, no fert, no spray and no flea beetle damage (well, not enough to have thinned it out at - I expect there's that many plants there the poor little beetles just choked to death).

Apparently, it will be grazed at some point during the winter.

Who knew? Continuous rape - all you need is to establish a crop once and you're quids in for the next few years

2 years ago I drilled a crop 8th August, grazed it pre Christmas because it was over knee high, it went on to yield 2.1t over the weighbridge and then I grazed the volunteers off again pre drilling wheat. Shame I haven’t managed to replicate it since but I will be grazing volunteers off pre drilling again next month. This years OSR has all been redrilled

 

[Brisel]

Cut the tips off a old part set of Guardian Airs or Bubblejets and fit one every 2 m or more. Blank off the rest. Don't do this until March as you need a pigeon proof canopy.

Sheep would be my preferred option.

My osr is knee high already buy has 1 - 2 flea beetle larvae per plant so I won't be doing anything yet. I'll manipulate the canopy in spring with NDVI for PGRs and save some N if it's still a) not infested and b) the winter weather hasn't done the work for me.

 

[Badshot]

Thanks for the suggestion @Badshot
Would that actually thin it out though, or just take leaf off, so when it grows away in the Spring there would be the same plant numbers?

I feel I need to reduce the plant numbers to give it space to branch out more in the Spring, and to help yield.

They'll definitely thin it out.
Some of the smaller plants won't survive being eaten and others will be trodden in and broken off.
I done it on some volunteers one year and it thinned it out nicely.

 

[DieselRob]

They'll definitely thin it out.
Some of the smaller plants won't survive being eaten and others will be trodden in and broken off.
I done it on some volunteers one year and it thinned it out nicely.

Agree with these. Sheep do a lot of tramping about

 

[Flintstone]

Thanks. And how hard do you let them graze it to be safe, but to do a good job? All leaves grazed right off?

 

[DieselRob]

Thanks. And how hard do you let them graze it to be safe, but to do a good job? All leaves grazed right off?

They’ll eat the soft leafy stuff first before the stems, I let mine take that off, would’ve let them take a bit of stem down but the weather was set to turn and I didn’t want them making a mess. I had 450 lambs on 20ac for 3 weeks in November, could’ve gone another week or 2 if the weather was ok.
Might be a big ask but if you could find someone with sheep already eating brassicas then they should come on and get their heads down rather than spend a week tramping around looking for grass

 

[yellowbelly]

Thanks. And how hard do you let them graze it to be safe, but to do a good job? All leaves grazed right off?

See @Farmer Roy 's post #5 above.

 

[stroller]

I'm sure the OP could make a killing selling his excess plants. Just need a bit of time with a trowel.

I had some bare patches last year and tried transplanting a few big healthy plants into those bits. When I went back the next day the transplanted plants were covered in slugs, somehow they could detect that the plants were under stress and homed in on them, even ignoring plants close by.

 

[Flintstone]

They’ll eat the soft leafy stuff first before the stems, I let mine take that off, would’ve let them take a bit of stem down but the weather was set to turn and I didn’t want them making a mess. I had 450 lambs on 20ac for 3 weeks in November, could’ve gone another week or 2 if the weather was ok.
Might be a big ask but if you could find someone with sheep already eating brassicas then they should come on and get their heads down rather than spend a week tramping around looking for grass

Excellent advice. Thanks.

 

[Bigjon44]

Our local regenerative farming pioneers are talking about us grazing this.....
View attachment 1138780
... not a great pic, but it's a field of self set osr. Was rape last year and nothing has been done in there since the combine left.

No seed cost, no fert, no spray and no flea beetle damage (well, not enough to have thinned it out at - I expect there's that many plants there the poor little beetles just choked to death).

Apparently, it will be grazed at some point during the winter.

Who knew? Continuous rape - all you need is to establish a crop once and you're quids in for the next few years

Bit like my beans,have come up better from the back of the combine to when they were drilled " properly " last year!!
Was thinking of letting them go again but haven't had any preem so will prob go into wheat!!!!