Despite the range of variety traits available to oilseed rape growers, the most desired attribute remains vigour, say agronomists.
Diven by this trait, plus disease resistance, is RGT Kanzzas. David Leaper, Agrii seed technical manager, says Kanzzas followed a strong 2023 performance in the company’s trials – finishing the second highest yielding variety in 2024, an average of four sites located across the country.
“One thing we’ve evaluated is late autumn biomass, analysing how large the plants are going into winter,” he explains.
“What’s driven our variety choice during the past few years is varieties that grow relatively quickly, producing a big plant with a nice thick stem. Not only are they better at coping with cabbage stem flea beetle, but they’re also less vulnerable to weather conditions and pigeons,” says David.
Early spring vigour is a factor Agrii correlates against assessed levels of CSFB. David says the firm believes there’s a close relationship between spring vigour and lower CSFB symptoms. “Generally speaking, the higher the biomass, the lower the symptoms.
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