Leading independent seed breeder Elsoms Seeds and United Oilseeds, one of the UK’s largest national agricultural co-operatives, are advising growers and agronomists to reconsider new conventional rape varieties in variety selection planning based on their targeted special traits, Agronomic Merit (AM) scores and shorter breeding cycles confirms Elsoms OSR breeder Mark Nightingale.

             Mark, who has bred oilseed rape successfully for over 20 years, has seen a significant rise in popularity of hybrids in recent years based largely on their reputation for enhanced vigour but now feels that the arrival of new conventional, open-pollinated types offering high yields and displaying similar levels of vigour could tip the balance back towards conventionals.

          Mark says” Although rape prices are currently lower than in recent years, we still annually import 1.5 million tons of oilseeds into the UK, so market demand is still strong. As a breeder, my role is to ensure that growers have all the right tools to grow the crop successfully and that includes utilising new breeding techniques to produce conventional varieties which can not only match hybrid varieties, but actually outperform them in many areas, including higher yields. It’s also worth noting that we can breed new conventionals far faster than hybrids, so the cost of conventional rape seed is often much lower, and that can make a significant difference when it comes to lowering upfront costs and mitigating risk when it comes to establishing oilseed rape.

    “Despite many other strong and well established economic and agronomic arguments for conventional varieties, there’s little doubt they’ve been overlooked when it comes to OSR variety selection. Currently no-one has bred a variety that is resistant to Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle (CSFB) and the current trend towards early establishment has prompted growers to become overly reliant on over-yeared seed which tends to be less vigorous, regardless of whether it’s a conventional or a hybrid variety.

    “In order to combat the threat of CSFB, Elsoms are selectively breeding new varieties that are able to cope with much higher larval loads. And, because breeding cycles for conventional open-pollinated (OP) varieties are much quicker than for hybrids, we have found that OP varieties can adapt to this selection pressure much quicker than when breeding hybrids. This recent breakthrough is just one element of a wider risk mitigation strategy for growing OSR more successfully, linking in with establishing rape after the CSFB migration period to minimise larval damage and the use of new, later applied OSR herbicides.

     “Focusing specifically on Elsoms new conventional varieties, we have Powerhouse, Firebird and Hallmark, all currently in AHDB Candidate trials and each offering UK rape growers something specific to suit their needs. Powerhouse has exceptionally high seed yields, Firebird combines a high gross output with built-in Turnip Yellows Virus (TuYv) resistance and Hallmark offering diversity in genetics to the other 2, with a very high oil content and excellent verticillium resistance” he concludes.

    Beckii Gibbs, Seed Manager for United Oilseeds, agrees with Mark’s call for a rethink from growers on their future use of conventional varieties.

       She adds” Whilst there has been a definite trend towards hybrids in recent years, it’s also fair to say that there’s always been a strong place for good conventionals. Many consistently successful OSR growers that I talk with grow both as part of their selection strategy - although Mark’s points about there being no resistant variety to CSFB with both hybrids and conventionals equally susceptible to larval damage are entirely valid.

    “Stacked traits in hybrid varieties are very good, but only if you have issues with those resistances. If you don’t, then you don’t need them and there are certainly some exciting conventional varieties with targeted special traits out there for growers as well, so the overall options on variety choice look strong. I also see Agronomic Merit (AM) scores as an excellent, farmer friendly way of comparing varieties when combining yield, oil content, lodging and disease resistance into 1 figure. Elsoms new varieties certainly prove that you can have a top AM score in a conventional.

     “Of their new varieties, Firebird has a top 3 AM score in the East and West with 42.6 and is the top AM in the North with 31.7.  From recent trial results I’ve seen it appears to have no real weaknesses.

    “Hallmark also looks very appealing. It’s an early maturing variety with excellent verticillium resistance – better than the resistance control in independent testing” she concludes.