DSV Duke’s ‘get-up-and-go’ was the main attraction for Lincolnshire farmer and contractor Ryan Dring.
Drilled 3 weeks later than the other oilseed rape at his 460ha arable farm near Market Rasen, DSV Duke had more than caught up with the other crops by spring and looked really good in the run up to harvest.
“We managed to get most of our 100ha of oilseed rape drilled in the second week of August last year,” he explains.
“But due to the appalling conditions of autumn 2019, there was some land that we actually didn’t get drilled with winter wheat until mid-March so it was very late harvesting. This was the land that we decided to use for the DSV Duke based on its reputation for vigour.
“The Duke didn’t go in until 5th September but it just leapt away. We used a slightly higher than normal seed rate of 55 seeds/M2 to give it a chance against the many pigeons, flea beetles and slugs we always get, but it just started growing and it’s never looked back.”
The crop then had another growth kick in late February which further helped it grow away from pest damage, Ryan points out.
“In the end we didn’t need a PGR as the cold dry spring did the job for us and by flowering the Duke was looking fantastic. A solid wall of deep yellow and it’s more than caught up with the crops that were drilled much earlier.”