January 2009 Diary
DK Cabernet - oilseed rape
This year's seed crop includes 10 hectares of DK Cabernet conventional oilseed rape which is being grown on behalf of United Oilseeds. The crop was planted later than anticipated due to the late harvesting and baling of the previous year's spring barley crop. The field was cultivated as soon as the straw had been removed and the seedbed was prepared using a Rexius Carrier (disc and press). The ground was rolled pre and post drilling.
The seed was then drilled on September 18th at a rate of 4.3 kg/hectare. The target was to drill 80 seeds per m2 to produce a population of 40 - 50 plants per m2 in the spring.
Since then, the crop has received the following treatments:
|
Date |
Treatment |
Application rate |
|
23 September 2008 |
Nitrogen Slug pellets |
25 kg/ha 4 kg/ha |
|
29 September 2008 |
Katamaran Turbo - broad leaved weed herbicide Panarex - volunteer grass weed control Kantor - adjuvant |
2.5 litres/ha 0.5 litres/ha 0.1 litre/ha |
|
4 November 2008 |
Contrast - fungicide to control Phoma Nutriphyte - growth promoter Human - trace element Hallmark - insecticide |
0.41 litre/ha 0.6 litre/ha 0.35 litre/ha 50 ml/ha |
The crop isn't looking as well as I would like, but that is due mainly to the fact that it was sown later than usual and didn't have much time to establish prior to the onset of winter. As such, it is looking a little thin and patchy in places. It isn't the prettiest looking crop but it should perform relatively well with the right care, and at least it isn't going to need to be re-drilled!
January 20, 2009: DK Cabernet is being grown as a seed crop at Rookley Farm
So far this year, pest and disease damage have been extremely light. The seed crop is being grown in a reasonably open field that doesn't get targeted too heavily by the dreaded pigeons, and there are no signs of any major disease outbreaks. We will however have to go back and spray for volunteers again fairly shortly because this field will be used to grow a seed crop of wheat next season. That's one of the main differences between growing a seed crop compared to a commercial crop. It also explains why we adopt a wheat/spring barley/OSR/wheat rotation across much of our land.
|
January 20, 2009: This year’s crop of DK Cabernet is patchy in places due to late drilling, but Richard Monk is hopeful that it will recover quickly with the right care. |
Next update
Richard will be making monthly updates to his diary. So please make sure you check the United Oilseeds website regularly to keep up to date with how his crop of DK Cabernet is performing.