yielding variety across all regions in 2017 and toppedthe Northern list this year with a gross output of 107.4%. Broadway was the highest yielding variety in the North in 2016 and scored a gross output of 106.7% this year. “The consistency of both Ele- vation and Broadway is impres- sive,” says Mr Sutton. “This year’s crops are looking good in the fi eld, so given benign weather during the pod-fi ll period it should be an- other bountiful harvest.”
Strong dominance Mr Pickford creates about 50 crosses a year, selecting compli- mentary parent stock to try and take the best qualities from each. “There is strong maternal domi- nance in oilseed rape so the moth- er is very important.”
He then plants F1 seed out in
the fi eld, to produce F2 plants, from which he selects the best to produce around 300 F3 lines each year. At this point the varieties are screened for oil content and quality, with Mr Pickford looking for a high seed yield to plant bi- omass ratio.
He also looks at seeds per pod, pods per plant and seed weight. “There are two components to yield: Agronomy and genetics. You have to start off with good genetics – agronomy is the ex- tra tool to realise that potential.” There are big genetic differ- ences between seed numbers – conventional varieties typically average 20-30 seeds, but Eleva- tion has between 30 and 45 seeds
per pod, with a 1g heavier thou- sand seed weight of 5.5-6g. Mr Pickford grows his oilseed
rape at SGS Environmental’s in- dependent trials site near Ban- bury, Oxfordshire, and spends a lot of his time walking the crops and tagging the best plants with blue twine. At fl owering, he places a selfi ng bag over the best plants, to prevent cross-pollination.
Best selection
“I bag 1200-1500 plants a year, but I will ditch a lot of them be- fore harvest,” he explains. “Then once I get the harvest results I’ll
get rid of more, so I’m only using the best.”
At the F4 stage, the varieties are planted across four or fi ve UK trial sites with a similar num- ber across Europe. This variety of soil types and climates chal- lenges their consistency, produc- ing both treated and untreated yield and quality results. At any one time, Mr Pickford has about 1200 plots covering around 2ha. He targets yields over 6t/ha and Elevation achieved 7t/ha. Disease resistance – par- ticularly to light leaf spot and ver- ticillium wilt – is important, as
good establishment and stand- ing ability. By year fi ve, varieties can go
forward to offi cial National List trials for two years. This is when seed lots are grown and talks with seed merchants get under way. Only then does Mr Pickford dis- cover whether varieties will se- cure AHDB recommendation and go into commercial production. Some
16 varieties have
reached the market, including Osprey, Sundance and Advance. “I’ve had quite a few near miss- es – and some very good varieties over the years,” says Mr Pickford.
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018 • ANGLIA FARMER 35 24296 SA DSV Phoenix Anglia Farmer Mini Page (No Flash).indd 1 JULY 2018 • ANGLIA FARMER 35 21/06/2018 14:08
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