Yield of winter rape in Europe falls short of expectations

The winter rape harvest in Europe is now over, and yields in many regions have fallen short of expectations. In parts of Poland, Germany, France and the UK, harvests were significantly smaller than originally anticipated. Although many crops seemed to be in good condition in terms of their visual appearance, grain yields in many cases were disappointing due to an unexpectedly low TGW.

The reasons for this are still not entirely clear, but numerous explanations have already been put forward.

Firstly, the weather this year has been blamed for fluctuating yields. Parts of Northern Germany, Poland and the Baltics suffered crop losses and severe damage to many crops following a cold snap in early January. Crop regeneration was hampered by a subsequent dry spring and early summer, which reinforced the negative effect on yields. In other regions of Europe, high rainfall and associated lack of sunlight combined with the excessive soil moisture have been mooted as possible reasons for the fluctuating yields. Other theories put it down to the higher incidence of disease.

Some regions were beset by severe outbreaks of verticillium, sclerotinia, phoma or cylindrosporium. This can certainly have led to yield losses at regional level or in individual areas, but none of the diseases blighted all the regions. It is clear that the losses cannot be attributed to a single cause, and in many cases it is assumed that a number of factors came into play which ultimately reduced yields.

Despite these gloomy reports, many farms managed to produce very satisfactory harvests.

The somewhat pessimistic news from Western and Central Europe was offset by positive reports from other European regions. Yields in South-Eastern Europe, for instance, were extremely positive this year, and above the long-term average. This is partly due to favourable weather during the growing period, and also to the fact that many farmers in this region are now taking a more professional approach to oilseed rape cultivation.

Against this background, stable yields obtained from the new varieties DARIOT and PHOENIX CL were particularly significant. Against all the odds, even this year the record yields obtained year-on-year have been confirmed throughout Europe. Even if winter rape was not always able to achieve peak yields at regional level, it remains a key component in crop rotation.

Thanks to stable prices, oilseed rape is and remains one of the most profitable crops in arable farming. However, in regions prone to damp weather, more careful attention should be paid to slug control in summer 2016!