- Only rain can help those plantations where the soil is crusted.
- The quality of emergence varies depending on, among other things, the region, but also the sowing depth.
Only rains will help the encrusted plantations
We are dealing with drought throughout the country. High temperatures in the first week of September and strong winds are further exacerbating this situation. This is not conducive to the dynamics of rapeseed development, although the situation is different in different destinations.
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Locally difficult rape emergence. How to break the soil crust?
And so, the most difficult situation is in those plantations that were sown before the heavy rainfall. Locally heavy rainfall occurred especially in the west and in the center before August 25. In such locations, the soil is crusted, and the emergence is so thin that there is still a risk of overseeding. Compacted soil is an almost impenetrable barrier – after germination, young plants encounter a compact layer of earth that they cannot overcome. The situation would be improved by rainfall, but it has not occurred so far. There is hope, however, because from Monday the forecast indicates lower temperatures, more autumnal weather, and most importantly – rainfall is to occur, which will "soften" the top layer of soil. This is essentially the only chance for the crusted soil, which limits rape emergence.
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Rapeseed is emerging and the first pests are present
Good emergence where rapeseed was sown after rainfall
Rainfall will also improve the situation on plantations, the bark coped well with emergence. In most cases, good conditions for this were in the south-western regions. Most of the rapeseed was sown here after August 25, even closer to August 30. Here, however, one can afford such late sowing – e.g. in the north-eastern or eastern regions, such a date is already somewhat risky, and there plantations were often established in conditions of high water deficit.
Nevertheless, plantations established after rainfall had quite good conditions for emergence. As it turns out, however, the depth of sowing was important. The conditions at the time of sowing seemed to be very good, just after the rainfall, however, very high temperatures appeared in the last week of August. At the same time, very strong winds often appeared. As a result of both of these factors, the top layer of soil dried out very quickly. It turned out that rapeseed sown very shallowly, at about 1 cm, did not have enough moisture for emergence. Plantations that were sown at least slightly deeper did better. Theoretically, rapeseed from very shallow sowing should emerge faster, but due to poorer moisture at the germination site, it appeared on the surface later than plants sown at 1.5 – 2 cm. Nevertheless, in regions where rainfall occurred in the second decade of August and at the beginning of the third decade, and rapeseed was sown in the last week of that month, emergence is generally good.
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Rapeseed volunteers in rapeseed. It's a problem, but there's not much we can do about it
A bit late for sifting?
It is a bit late for any potential reseeding, although not in all regions. In the southwest, it would still be possible to take a risk, but in the north or east, for example, it is too late for that. And it is there, as farmers indicate, that the problem of emergence is the greatest. Similarly in the center of the country. Especially in locations in the east of the country, any potential reseeding poses a great risk, because there, sowing around September 10 means a significant deviation from the early and optimal date (even a month after the recommended sowing dates).