The ability to perform consistently under the toughest conditions is a standout feature of its latest Dekalb hybrid oilseed rape claims Bayer.
Overall, DK Excentric is the top-performing UK variety to emerge from Bayer’s precision breeding programme, outperforming every other Dekalb hybrid bar one in both the higher output 2022 season and the much more challenging season of 2023.
In two years of NIAB and Scottish Agronomy trials, it delivered above-average yields and oil contents in excess of 45% with an average gross output of 5.11t/ha
DK Excentric brings together an excellent combination of characters and growth habit for early planting yet has the flexibility for sowing well into September should soil, pest or weather conditions necessitate a change in drilling plans.
“Whether for drilling early or into September, DK Excentric is going to be one of the best fits, because it is so flexible in terms of drilling date,” says Bayer seed specialist Sarah Bebb.
“In our trials in Scotland and down into both the East and the West, its performance has been very consistent. It has performed equally well, as either the top-yielding variety or close to the top at almost every site.
“Scoring of 12 field-scale strip trials in our National Hybrid Proving Programme this season shows DK Excentric to be almost as vigorous to establish and fast to develop as current Dekalb favourites on farm. Rapid spring regrowth without excessive earliness means it is well set up to deliver the strong restart needed to compensate for overwinter damage.
“The variety’s across-the-board agronomic strengths include an 8 for stem stiffness and 9 for resistance to lodging for the greatest management flexibility, while an excellent stress tolerance package includes good resistance to light leaf spot, phoma stem canker and TuYV.”
Latest ADAS stem health trials further show DK Excentric has good tolerance to verticillium wilt, together with low levels of premature pod ripening.
Bayer states that the new variety provides OSR growers with the assurance of the core Dekalb yield-protecting traits: vigorous establishment; rapid autumn development double phoma resistance; strong standing power and proven pod-shatter resistance.
United Oilseeds commercial and seed manager, Beckii Gibbs stresses that it’s hard to find anything not to like about DK Excentric.
“It has all the traits a grower could need including double phoma, TuYV and pod shatter resistance coupled with vigorous establishment and rapid autumn development,” she says.
“With its higher-than-average oil content helping to maximise gross output we’re very pleased to add DK Excentric to our leading OSR portfolio for 2024.
