Andy Stirrat of Fingask Farm, Rhynd near Perth has his crop of Archimedes oilseed rape off the field and in the shed, at least a week before any other oilseed rape crop in the area.
Sprayed off on the 5th July and then harvested 19 days later on the 25th July, the crop is one of the highest yielding in the last 5-6 years at 4.8t/ha and under 10% moisture. “We just have the one field of OSR on the farm, and this was drilled on the 10thAugust and has looked pretty good all season – however it’s hard to tell with rape how this will play out in yield – but this crop has been really pleasing, “he says.
“I’m just glad that I have the crop in the shed as bad weather is forecast for the next few days.”
Last year, Mr Stirrat lost a large amount of his rape crop just before harvest when strong winds swept through the farm, causing extensive pod shatter, reducing his yields down to 1t/ha.
Nick Wallace of Nickerson Seeds, says it is the only crop of OSR in the Perth area that he has seen in the shed, and is delighted that the variety has delivered what it says on the box.
“Archimedes is a clubroot resistant variety that offers the valuable traits of pod shatter resistance, early flowering and maturity – the benefits of which Mr Stirrat is enjoying now. With its excellent disease resistance to light leaf spot and stem canker, Archimedes is a variety particularly suitable to growers in the north.”
