James Dunlop farms just over 485ha at Wittering, Cambridgeshire, and has been trialling the new conventional oilseed rape variety Pinnacle, with the expectation that it will prove to be the next Campus.
About 364ha is down for arable cropping, with 283ha going through the combine. The rest is put into Sustainable Farming Incentive options or the mid-tier Countryside Stewardship scheme.
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The rotation starts with wheat, followed by either winter barley or rye, oilseed rape, another wheat and then combinable peas. All are established on limestone brash soils.
Something new
Campus has been in the rotation for nine years, but James and his adviser, Doug Balderson, were looking for something new.
“I like to grow conventional oilseed rape varieties as I like to save my own seed for economic reasons. Conventional variety seed is much less expensive than hybrid seed, you can save your own seed and you drill it with a higher seed rate, which I think helps with the problems of slugs and flea beetles.
“Pinnacle is the top conventional variety in the AHDB Recommended List this year, so it caught my eye. When selecting an oilseed rape variety, I chose high yield and oil content as my top criteria, and Pinnacle fits the bill here. It has outyielded Campus, I understand.”
Consistent performance
Neil Groom, general manager at Grainseeds, adds: “Pinnacle has performed consistently well in official and private independent trials and has outperformed the popular conventional variety Campus, as well as many hybrids year after year.”
James also pays close attention to the agronomic factors, including disease resistance and standing power. Pinnacle matches Campus for resistance, but adds verticillium resistance, as well as boasting a rating of 8 for lodging and 9 for standing power.
Breeder Mike Pickford notes: “In terms of ripening, Pinnacle and Campus are both medium to early. This means OSR harvest is completed before first wheats are ready to be cut, and following crops can be planted in good time, while the rapeseed harvested is already in storage.”
James Dunlop and Doug Balderson say the 20ha of Pinnacle is looking well and has done all the way through, but the real result will be at harvest. “Will Pinnacle outyield the two other rape varieties we are growing – Annika [another conventional] and Attica [a hybrid]?”