Planting Winter Oilseed Rape in a Double-row

The TERRASTRIP ZN8R/75 chisel plough aggregated with the FERTI-CART FC 3500 fertiliser hopper

The OMEGA OO 6000 FL seed drill equipped with the ALFA DRILL 400 seeding unit

1. Provision of some of the nitrogen nutrition of winter oilseed rape on the basis of joint cropping of plants in the pea family.
2. Elimination of erosion risks after seeding and during vegetation when growing winter oilseed rape in broader rows.
3. Reduction in nitrogen losses by washing out in the period from the seeding to the start of vegetation in spring.
4. Reduction in the growth of weeds, diseases and pests in the winter oilseed rape crop thanks to the present secondary crops.

1. Increase in the food offer for freely living organisms when the secondary crop is present in the winter oilseed rape.
2. Biological soil cultivation in the autumn with the secondary crop to develop the root system of winter oilseed rape and to support entry of water into the soil.
3. Sustainability of winter oilseed rape cultivation as the main oil plant in West and Central Europe in the changing perception of the meaning of agriculture in the society.

Winter oilseed rape with secondary crops planted on 9/8/2019

Winter oilseed rape with secondary crops photographed on 4/9/2019

1. The establishment of double rows of winter oilseed rape with a spacing of 25 cm and an inter-row width of 50 cm eliminates intraspecific competition of the winter oilseed rape and optimises the space for the development of the plan, even when using seed drills that do not allow planting a number of specimens.
2. The reduction in the number of plants per area unit is related to decrease in the cost of seeds and also increases the plastic potential of line and hybrid cultivars on the occurrence of stress factors.
3. The double-row with a spacing of 25 cm and less provides good conditions for suppressing the growth of weeds in the double-row.
4. The concentration of winter oilseed rape rows into double-rows provides an effective use for strip application of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.

1. The inter-row distance between the double-rows (50 cm) allows for inter-row cultivation of the oilseed rape crops using a weeding machine for inter-row crops.
2. The spacing contributes to the regulation of weeds and threshing of the cereal catch crop, as well as to a substantial reduction in the risks related to the occurrence of weed rape.
3. The inter-rows can be used for seeding secondary crops together with the winter oilseed rape, or for weeding using weeding machines or inter-row cultivators equipped with the strip pesticide application systems after it emerges.
4. The inter-rows between the double-rows also enable inter-row cultivation of soil with additional fertilisation.