Better yields and profits claimed for hybrid osr - farmers weekly

10 JANUARY 1997 ------------------------- BETTER YIELDS AND PROFITS CLAIMED FOR HYBRID OSR NEW spring hybrid oilseed rape Triolo offers a significant yield and gross margin improvement over

traditional spring rape, claims CPB Twyford. At 109% of controls on the new HGCA spring rape Descriptive List and with the highest oil yield, CPB Twyford says growers should be at least

£30/ha (£12/acre) better off with its hybrid rather than standard varieties. "That is based on rape at £183/t and a NIAB trials performance of 2.86t/ha," says the companys head of

oilseeds breeding, Liz Williams. "Conventional controls would be £43 behind the hybrid. "Even taking into account a £13/ha higher seed cost for Triolo, this still leaves growers

with a significant £30/ha gross margin advantage." Given a dose of sulphur and a slightly lower seed rate Triolo can open up an even greater advantage than that seen in NIAB trials, she

continues. "Our experience suggests that growers need to drill varietal associations at a lower seed rate than standard varieties if they are to make the most of hybrid vigour.

"For this reason, we recommend seed rates of around 6kg/ha, depending upon thousand grain weight, for Triolo this spring, looking to establish 140-150 plants per square m. This is

around 2kg/ha lower than normal. "This reduced seed rate is not as low as the 3.5kg/ha advised for the winter rape hybrid Synergy and recognises the fact that there is a shorter growing

period for the spring hybrids advantage to take effect and provide a real benefit,"explains Ms Williams. "In addition, growers should look to use around 50kg/ha sulphur on Triolo.

In this way, they can ensure the stronger growth of the hybrid is not limited and thus properly utilise the higher yield potential of the variety. Growers will only need a 3% yield rise to

cover the costs of the additional sulphur and this should be clearly achievable." &#42 NEW spring hybrid oilseed rape Triolo offers a significant yield and gross margin improvement

over traditional spring rape, claims CPB Twyford. At 109% of controls on the new HGCA spring rape Descriptive List and with the highest oil yield, CPB Twyford says growers should be at least

£30/ha (£12/acre) better off with its hybrid rather than standard varieties. "That is based on rape at £183/t and a NIAB trials performance of 2.86t/ha," says the companys head of

oilseeds breeding, Liz Williams. "Conventional controls would be £43 behind the hybrid. "Even taking into account a £13/ha higher seed cost for Triolo, this still leaves growers

with a significant £30/ha gross margin advantage." Given a dose of sulphur and a slightly lower seed rate Triolo can open up an even greater advantage than that seen in NIAB trials, she

continues. "Our experience suggests that growers need to drill varietal associations at a lower seed rate than standard varieties if they are to make the most of hybrid vigour.

"For this reason, we recommend seed rates of around 6kg/ha, depending upon thousand grain weight, for Triolo this spring, looking to establish 140-150 plants per square m. This is

around 2kg/ha lower than normal. "This reduced seed rate is not as low as the 3.5kg/ha advised for the winter rape hybrid Synergy and recognises the fact that there is a shorter growing

period for the spring hybrids advantage to take effect and provide a real benefit,"explains Ms Williams. "In addition, growers should look to use around 50kg/ha sulphur on Triolo.

In this way, they can ensure the stronger growth of the hybrid is not limited and thus properly utilise the higher yield potential of the variety. Growers will only need a 3% yield rise to

cover the costs of the additional sulphur and this should be clearly achievable." &#42 _Spring rape gets a taste of hybrid technology this year in the form of Triolo from CPB

Twyford._