Innovations In Oilseed Rape

By selecting the best material from a number of co-operative partnerships, KWS UK is providing high gross output winter oilseed rapes for UK growers.

And, by tapping into a new hybrid breeding programme undertaken by its parent company in Germany, the UK arm of the business looks set to help re-establish hybrids as the number one variety type of choice.

KWS works across all countries in Europe and, according to Klaus Schlünder, who is head of business development for oil crops based at Einbeck, Germany, the business has around a 10% share of winter oilseed rape crops in this region.

“Oilseed rape is now a major crop for us,” says Klaus. “We are now the third major plant breeding business in terms of investment in the crop. So, expect to see some major KWS varieties on farm in the next two to three years,” he predicts.

Like other breeding businesses, this investment is largely in hybrids.

And, while hybrids account for around 0% of KWS sales throughout Europe, his is growing year on year. “In France, or example, 38% of the total crop area s in fully-restored hybrids and 7% composite hybrid types,” says Mr Shlünder.

While the UK is lagging behind, with hybrids accounting for just 20-25% of the area, new types are bringing higher yields and a consistency of performance that in-breds can’t match

“Hybrids offer a wider genetic pool of characters than inbreds,” explains Klaus. By combining the diverse female and male lines you have greater opportunity to introduce more wide ranging characters that offer improved adaptability in awkward growing circumstances. At the same time – due to hybrid heterosis - vigour is improved ensuring strong growth.

The problem has been that until now, most hybrids have been produced using techniques that are different from INRA Ogura system. While these represent 55-60% of the German market, where they offer improved establishment and vigour in particularly harsh autumn and winter conditions, they are not consistently better – and offer inconsistent advantages – than open-pollinators in less stressful situations, such as those found in the UK.

“Indeed, in the UK, growers found that soon after their initial introduction the first generation hybrids offered no real yield advantage over the more quickly developed newer in-bred lines and were more expensive; this slowed hybrid development in the UK.