Premium-earning oilseed rape production has come of age across the country in a major way this season with High Oleic, Low Linolenic (HOLL) hybrid, V316OL joining the 2015/16 HGCA East/West Recommended Winter OSR List at the very top. At the same time, it comes onto the Northern List as one of the top three performers.
As well as a treated gross output 2% clear of any other variety and 5% above the previous East/West RL leader and a marketing-leading oil content of 46%, the latest variety from Monsanto’s pioneering HOLL breeding programme is currently providing growers with attractive premiums on top of all oil bonuses for high value food oil production.
What is more, it combines this unprecedented value with some of the best lodging and stem stiffness scores on the Recommended List and good resistance to both phoma stem canker and light leaf spot.
“V316OL has all the advantages,” stressed Monsanto oilseed rape breeder, Matthew Clarke. “Unlike our original HOLL varieties, it and sister hybrid, V295OL – already widely appreciated by growers for its high output – are producing on a clear par with the best of today’s commodity double low varieties and markedly better than most.
“As if this wasn’t enough, they both offer premiums over ‘double lows’ to meet growing European food processor demand market for high health frying oils.
“The fact that V316OL also joins the Northern Recommended List as one of its three highest output varieties speaks volumes for the variety’s consistency, based firmly on an agronomic package most other varieties on either List would give their eye teeth for.”
To ensure production remains in balance with market demand, V316OL and other HOLL varieties are grown on contract for UK and northern European crushers. These are currently available through Frontier, Harlow Agricultural Merchants, Agrii, Openfield, Fengrain and ADM Direct.
“Securing the HOLL premium requires effective management of double low volunteers and cruciferous weeds, in particular, to ensure linolenic acid levels are kept within specification,” explained Monsanto seeds and traits manager, Deryn Gilbey. “Crops obviously have to be stored and transported separately from any double lows also being grown. Otherwise, they need no special agronomy or management attention.
“The complimentary pre-movement oil sample analyses we provide as part of each contract show the vast majority of HOLL crops making the full premium-earning specification each season. And any that don’t can always be sold into the commodity double low crush. At the sort of output levels we’re talking about now, this means no financial disadvantage from HOLL growing even if something does prevent the specification being achieved.
“What we have here is market-leading gross output performance and great consistency across the regions with the potential for tonne for tonne earnings 10% above any other variety on either Recommended List and no financial downside if the premium specification isn’t met. Quite frankly, on this basis I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to grow V316OL or one of our other high output HOLL varieties in the coming year,” he concluded.
Also joining the HGCA Northern Recommended List for 2015/16 within the top five varieties alongside V316OL are DK Explicit and DK Exentiel, both with the best currently available combinations of phoma and light leaf spot resistance (8 and 6 respectively).
Described for the first time on the HGCA Northern List is Clearfield hybrid, DK Imagis CL with a treated gross output better than more than half the Recommended varieties. This step change in Clearfield variety output performance allied to excellent agronomics will be particularly appreciated by growers with cruciferous weed problems
