· Club Root resistance

· High yielding

· High oil content and low glucosinolates

· Excellent resistance to lodging

Why Mendel?

An MSL hybrid rape with yields similar to Pronto, very stiff stemmed and excellent resistance to lodging. Mendel's unique feature is its resistance to most common strains of club root – it is the only commercially available variety with this characteristic, which is of great value in the north, Scotland and parts of Kent where club root infection is a problem.

Gross Output

Data source: HGCA Recommended List 2006/7 for oilseed rape

Disease Resistance

Data source: HGCA Recommended List 2006/7 for oilseed rape

Agronomic Characteristics

Data source: HGCA Recommended List 2006/7 for oilseed rape

Mendel offers an agronomically complete variety with good disease resistance and straw which is very stiff with excellent lodging resistance.

Site and Rotation

Mendel should only be grown where it is known that there is a club root problem and so this will be primarily in Scotland, the north of England, Kent and some specific areas of south east England

Drilling

Mendel is ideally suited to sowing from the first week in August and should be planted by mid-September. Seed is supplied in packs to be sown at a rate of 50 viable seeds per m2, do not exceed the recommended seed rate.

Fertilizers

Mendel has a high yield potential and it's extremely stiff straw means that nitrogen strategies can be used to maximise yield without compromising standing power.

Sulphur

As with all oilseed rape it is important to ensure that the crop receives sufficient sulphur. Sulphur availability in the right form and at the right time is one of the key factors in exploiting hybrid yield potential. Also, the crop utilisation of high rates of nitrogen is dependent upon the availability of adequate levels of sulphur. Insufficient sulphur will seriously restrict the potential for yield responses from any nitrogen that is applied.

Herbicides

Hybrids can have a tremendous ability to recover from setbacks and can sometimes tolerate quite high levels of weed infestation, provided the crop is well established. As the main competitive effect of weeds in rape crops occurs during the autumn, early weed control is likely to give the best yield response.

Fungicides

Mendel has very good disease resistance, however, it is likely to be very responsive to fungicides, and a two-spray programme based on autumn and spring applications should give higher margins.

Harvesting

Any method of harvest will suit Mendel as it is so stiff strawed. The use of a desiccant will provide for even ripening of the crop and it is good for weed control in the following crop. Timing of desiccant application is important and hybrid crops should be inspected regularly as harvest approaches.

All information is a partial extraction from the cpb-twyfords website and also the HGCA Recommended List 2007/8. See www.cpb-twyford.co.uk and also www.hgca.com for the full dataset