Launched by breeders Limagrain UK, on the back of their well established and very successful trait-loaded hybrid breeding programme, this attribute covers the three main stem-based diseases of OSR - phoma, Cylindrosporium (Light leaf spot) and verticillium.

"To date, there has been no valuable way of assessing a variety's tolerance to the three most common stem based diseases in a quantifiable way – and this is what we have set out to do with the launch of 'Stem Health'," says Liam Wilkinson, arable technical officer for Limagrain.

"For a Limagrain variety to hold the Stem Health tag it has to offer high levels of disease resistance to all three diseases – one single weakness leads to exclusion from the Stem Health list, or the right to carry the Stem Health claim."

He believes the addition of this characteristic to the Limagrain programme brings another level of genetic security to help mitigate as much risk as possible to an already risky crop.

"Stem health is generally an area that is often overlooked but can have a serious impact on gross output.  However by having healthy green stems longer into the growing season we often see higher yields and oil content," he notes.

"As breeders, we have recognised that the best way to mitigate the risk to on-farm performance from these diseases, is through improved genetics, therefore Stem Health has been a key focus for the Limagrain European breeding programme.

With three breeding stations across Europe, and collaboration with national institutes and universities, Limagrain has been able to test and evaluate material across different disease pressures, which has resulted in a big improvement of LG germplasm over the last few years.

"We select plants with good strong stems that stand well – we know the genetics will hold up," says Mr Wilkinson.

Newly recommended variety Attica and current commercial offering LG Auckland, are the first varieties in the LG breeding programme to offer Stem Health - adding to an already trait-loaded offering - and this is reflected in their consistently high gross output of 107 and 106% respectively.

PANEL

2023 sees continued confidence in the oilseed rape crop, on the back of high commodity prices and growers gaining a better understanding of establishing the crop under CSFB and weather challenges, was the message from Limagrain's arable marketing manager, William Charlton, at a recent industry briefing.

"Oilseed rape is still the best non-cereal break crop, and second to first wheats in many situations in terms of farm gross margins – and with newer varieties bringing improved yields, vigour and agronomic characteristics to the rotation – growers are seeing the opportunity provided by the crop," he notes.

"We saw a big rebound in the crop in 2021, with the planted area for harvest 2022 up around 361,000 ha's. This year, we expect that to go up to 414,000 ha's sown."

"We also see the popularity of hybrids increasing, with hybrids making up 71% of the crop drilled this year, and only 19% of the crop is down to conventional varieties and 10% to farm saved seed."

"There is no doubt that the rise in popularity of hybrids is led by their vigour, as well as their ability, in the case of Limagrain hybrids, to offer Stem Protect, TuYV, Clubroot, Pod Shatter and RLM7 resistance – all of which contribute to yield stability, which we know is what growers are looking for on-farm," he says.