Oilseed rape represents an important field crop in domestic agricultural production. The sowing of oilseed rape is approaching, and on this occasion we spoke with Dr. Ana Marjanović Jeromela from the Institute of Crop and Vegetable Farming in Novi Sad. She talks about the sowing of this oilseed to the smallest detail, but also mistakes during the production of this culture.
It is important to respect the optimal date for sowing oilseed rape
As our interlocutor says, in the agro-ecological conditions of Serbia, the sowing of rapeseed most often takes place in the optimal period between August 25 and September 20. Somewhat later sowings are also possible, but they carry with them the risk that the rapeseed plants will not reach the optimal stage for wintering.
“It is necessary to respect the optimal sowing period in order to avoided complications which can occur when sowing too early or when sowing too late.
When sowing too early, especially with those genotypes of varieties, hybrids that have been selected in different conditions, where the autumns are somewhat harsher and the winter comes earlier, it can lead to the plants being awake and move into the generative phase, and in case of too late sowing, the plants are not sufficiently developed, not enough nutrients have been collected and the process has not been completed temperingand that such plants do not come into the winter sufficiently prepared, and that in both cases there is a danger of freezing”, explains our interlocutor.
Avoid too clayey and porous soil for sowing oilseed rape
According to her, although rapeseed grows best on fertile, deephumus soils of the carbonate type, something can succeed on those as well of inferior qualitywhere similar to the sunflower it gives more profitable yields than many other agricultural plant species.
“When choosing a plot, you should take care that the land is not too large glinovito that is, that an impermeable layer of water retention is not created, because oilseed rape does not take long for its roots to be established without air. Also pay attention that the land is not too much porous that is, that it does not occur rapid loss of moisture“, pointed out Marjanovič Jeromela.
Use of rapeseed as bee pasture and animal feed
She adds that when cultivating the land, care should be taken to do it as soon as possible stubble peeling because this prevents the capillary rise of water i loss precious moisture reserves. In this way, the germination and sprouting of weeds, i.e. pre-grasses (the most common pre-grasses of oilseed rape are crushed grains). After that, in the pre-sowing preparation, these weeds are destroyed, that is, the penetrated pre-crop.
Basic soil cultivation two to three weeks before sowing oilseed rape
With this preparation, he emphasizes, the land is prepared into a good one fine-grained structure, which is necessary because rapeseed has small seeds that are sown at a depth of 1,5 do 2 centimeter and it should be provided with good conditions for simultaneous germination and sprouting, which is one of the crucial stages in the development of rapeseed.
“It should be taken into account that before the basic processing, which is carried out either by undermining or basic plowing, do a soil analysis and thus see which and how many nutrients are missing in order to repair the natural fertility of the land.
After the basic processing that would be desirable to be done two to three weeks before sowing itself, so that the soil settles, close the furrow immediatelyand then there is seed preparation before sowing, where some of the herbicides needed if the soil is weedy are introduced,” says our interlocutor from the Institute of Crop and Vegetable Agriculture.
Sowing rapeseed seeds at 1.5 to 2 centimeters
According to her, producers must not allow them to form on the surface of the land grudge which prevent proper germination and sprouting and prevent good utilization of moisture, which we know very well is often at the end of August and beginning of September in deficit. This is the period that is critical for germination and sprouting, that is, for the development of rapeseed.
“Also, if it is sown too deep, the seedling may not have enough strength to come to the surfaceif it is too shallow, the surface layer itself dries out, moisture is lost and the seed remains on the surface and thus has a problem later in germination, sprouting, rooting, it can happen that such a seed and does not germinate“, she emphasized.
Adjust the seeding density of rapeseed to the varieties and growing conditions
We also talked about sowing density with Dr. Ana Marjanović Jeromela. As he says, the recommended density for hybrid varieties is in between 500,000 and 550,000 plants per hectare, while in line varieties that number is slightly higher – in between 600 000 i 750 000 of plants per hectare.
“Care should be taken to adjust the number of plants sowing conditionsas we move towards a later sowing date, that number increases because we know that the percentage will be higher freezingi.e. if the sowing is of poor quality, so that we have a larger number of seeds that remain on the surface itself, the norm should also be increased, in the case of soils of poorer quality, care should also be taken to adjust the sowing density, because we know that oilseed rape in conditions of intensive production has a high yield, and as As I said, even on poorer quality land, it gives profitable yields, but agrotechnics are needed adapt that”, says our interlocutor about this item.
Oilseed rape enables proper use of resources
He points out that after sowing it is very important to provide good contact seeds and land, which many producers forget and do not use tools intended for this, for example different rollers. Attention should be paid to ensure that the soil is not too wet, so that the formation of crust does not occur, everything should be adapted to the conditions of production, to the soil itself, and then to the resources available to the farm.
Finally, our interlocutor points out the essential advantage of rapeseed.
“Rola oil has the advantage of allowing the farm to use its resources use correctly because most agrotechnical operations with rapeseed does not match with the main agrotechnical operations in other plant species, so mechanization and manpower on the farm can be properly used”, concludes Dr. Ana Marjanović Jeromela.
Source: www.agromedia.rs
