To ensure the success of your rapeseeds crops and limit the risks on weakened plots before winter (risks of phoma, sensitivity of small rapeseed to cold ...), it is essential to optimize the water and mineral nutrition of rapeseeds. Here are a few tips on how to care for rapeseed crops in the fall.
What is the benefit of growing rapeseeds in crop rotation?
Rapeseeds are very useful when preceding the seedling of soft wheat. It is a good starter crop because it is a way to vary successive crops. As a result, it generally leads to improved yields on the succeeding crops - around 10% - especially when compared to planting wheat after a wheat crop.
Rapeseed crops are good for capturing nitrate. This cereal has a high capacity for absorbing and therefore for using efficiently the mineral nitrogen drawn from organic effluents. Early sowing, from the end of August, gives rapeseeds enough time to feed on the nitrogen available in the soil in the autumn, before their growth is stopped by the arrival of winter. These recommendations can apply in order to reduce the amount of leached nitrate during the winter.
Rapeseeds also break the cycle of cereal diseases. Short cereal rotations can be conducive to eyespots, fusarium and take all diseases. Moreover, decomposition of rapeseed residues, which are high in glucosinolates, leads to the production of "toxic" compounds. They can inhibit the growth of fungi steeped in the soil.
How can we boost rapeseed crops in the fall?
Rapeseeds emerge according to the dates of sowing and especially the amount of rain they get. Plots range from the cotyledon stage to 4 or more leaves. The objective is to reach a minimum of 8 to 10 leaves at the beginning of winter.
Rapeseed yields are determined by their development before the winter and their regrowth in the spring.
In the autumn, it is advised to apply a foliar solution on rapeseeds. This will help the plant to store its beneficial substances in the plant's collar. The collar can be compared to a ‘storage warehouse’ where the plant keeps its mineral elements in order to ensure a better resistance to cold. This will also be the guarantee to get more rapeseeds growing at the end of winter.
Nutrition, a good choice to stimulate rapeseed crops
What is the best way to estimate rapeseed requirements? Decision-making tools are interesting in this respect. These can vary according to the high variability on rapeseed plots. Soil and foliar analysis are also very useful for managing the nutrition of rapeseeds in the medium and long term.
When weather conditions are good for plant growth, it is advised to use a foliar nutrition solution that has been specially formulated for rapeseeds. Some specific solutions for plants are composed of key elements for rapeseed growth: magnesium, boron, manganese and molybdenum. These solutions are needed in order to strengthen the crop, especially plants that have started growing late after rainy periods. These products can result in strengthening the plant’s main roots. These solutions can better help rapeseeds deal with the cold winter. These specific solutions can also help stimulate their natural defenses against the phoma as underdeveloped plants are more sensitive to this disease.
If you want to stimulate your rapeseeds before winter, do not wait to take action. Contact our experts, they can help you find the most relevant solutions!
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