A quantitative comparison of the growth, development and yield of different varieties of oilseed rape

Abstract

SUMMARY A field experiment to compare the growth, development and yields of four varieties of oilseed rape, Cresus, Guile, Rigo and Nilla, is described and the results discussed. Cressus was the highest-yielding variety largely because it produced more pods and more seeds per pod. The numbers of pods and seeds per pod were positively correlated with the leaf area index at the onset of flowering. This suggests that the rate of supply of carbon assimilates to the inflorescences around the time of anthesis is an important yield-determining character. The mean weight of the individual seeds was greater in Cresus than Guile and this difference, which developed late on in pod growth, also contributed to the higher yields in Cresus.