Ed Wharton - Winsford Hall Farm, Stokesby

Ed is currently growing 20 ha of Flash having increased his acreage after gaining a staggering yield of over 5t /ha from his Flash crop last harvest. Ed said ‘even with such a high yield no signs of lodging could be seen in the field’. He went on to say that ‘ Flash’s high score for lodging was one of the main reasons for choosing the variety’. He also mentioned that ‘a fast, reliable harvest is a key priority for me, growing so many cereal crops and only having one machine to do all the harvesting, as well as battling with the unreliable British weather’.

Ed started growing oilseed rape five years ago and generally grows each crop in a 6 year rotation.

Ed was recommended to grow Flash by his United Oilseeds area manager James Hood. James pointed out how vigorous the variety was in the Spring and the fact that it would be able to withstand the heavy soil conditions on Ed’s marshes. Ed mentioned that ‘by choosing a hybrid I was helping to ensure the plants really got away and achieved a better ground coverage by the end of the autumn reducing the chance of pigeon attack. Another benefit of sowing Flash was that it gave me the option of later drilling, helping to spread my autumn workload over a longer period.’

  Flash was planted on very heavy, clay marsh at Mautby Heath near Great Yarmouth on 15 ^th August. The marshes are roughly 1m below sea level. The rape was applied at a seed rate of 3.5 - 4kg per hectare. This is slightly higher than recommended but the soil conditions were very dry at planting and the fields are vulnerable to attack by slugs therefore the seed rate was increased to ensure a reasonable target plant population.