Winter Oilseed Rape

Hybrid oilseed rape varieties,bred by the market leading OSR breeders

Our Range Of Products

Click on the product below to explore the Goldcrop Winter Oilseed Rape Varieties product range. For further details and ordering please contact your Goldcrop sales representative.

Key Points for the Production

Winter Oilseed Rape

To achieve a thriving and productive crop of winter oilseed rape, there are several crucial factors and key points that demand meticulous attention and strategic implementation throughout the entire cultivation process, encompassing everything from pre-planting preparations to post-harvest practices.

Click to expand the key points. →

  • Choose a proven variety – do not take chances with such a high value crop
  • Reliable yield performance, good standing power and good disease resistance
  • Hybrid types can be useful for overcoming pest and weather issues
  • Hybrid types can be useful for overcoming pest and weather issues during establishment and over winter. New traits are being added to WOSR varieties such as Clearfield Herbicide Resistance, Turnip Yellows Virus Resistance and Club Root Resistance.
  • Sow early – 15th August to 10th September, earlier the better as big plants will deal better with slug and pigeon attack A well-established crop can also provide potential to reduce N usage in the spring.
  • Clear previous crop quickly to ensure suitable sowing date, winter barley ideal for this
  • Pay attention to sowing rate, base decisions on TGW & conditions, aim for 30 to 40 plants per sq metre in spring (hybrids and conventional varieties)
  • Various establishment methods can be used, strip till, plough, min-till, direct drill,
  • Monitor carefully for flea beetle at early stages
  • Butisan or Katamaran Turbo (Cleavers & Poppy), apply immediately after rolling or delay until very early post emergence if heavy rain forecast after sowing
  • Graminicide (eg Falcon, Fusilade Max, Stratos Ultra) for volunteer cereals & wild oats
  • Astrokerb is a useful weed-control product as it gives excellent control of broadleaf & grass weeds at an economical cost (note rules regarding baling of OSR haulm).
  • WOSR has a high demand for N & Sulphur, less so for P & K. Use Green Area Index (GAI) phone apps from BASF or Yara to calculate total N requirement in spring. Applying some of the N late will greatly benefit pod fill and eventual yield. Hold back approx. 30-40 units N till the latest time at which you can spread over the crop
  • Don’t forget micronutrients such as Boron & Magnesium
  • Fungicide choice will be based on requirement for crop shortening versus disease control; Prothioconazole is excellent for disease control whereas Metconazole & Tebuconazole are better where shortening is required
  • Direct harvesting with combine harvester safer in Irish climate than swathing
  • Desiccation with Glyphosate and the use of Pod Sealants makes the ripe standing crop more shed resistant
  • Extendable headers greatly improve harvesting output and reduce losses
  • Crop will take 2 1/2 – 3 weeks to ripen following desiccation. Once the crop is ripe, the moisture content will drop very quickly in the right weather (on a good harvest day, the mc% of a ripe crop will drop by 1% per hour).

A valuable break crop in more ways than one

Oilseed Rape (OSR) really only started to be grown in Ireland in 2006 after the cessation of the sugar beet industry. For many years, the annual area sown to OSR struggled to get past 10,000 hectares but in more recent times the average area drilled each year is closer to 15,000 hectares. There is plenty of scope to increase the area to well over 20,000 hectares in the future, and certainly the development of higher yielding and consistent performing varieties will definitely help to drive that potential.

So far in Harvest 2025, Winter OSR is having a super year with many crops yielding over 5 tonnes per hectare (2 tonnes per acre). With an increased commodity value for oilseed rape currently (approx. €450/t in July 2025), high yields combined with the additional SIM payment for the chopped straw makes WOSR a financially rewarding crop to produce also. It is likely that an increased crop area of WOSR will be sown this autumn for Harvest 2026.

The main reasons for an increased area are ;

✔︎ Consistent crop performance with higher yields from new varieties with enhanced yield protecting traits

✔︎ Overall increased grower confidence and crop agronomy skills

✔︎ Improved profitability and crop margins vs previous years

✔︎ The need for suitable break crops to help with rotation and grass weed control strategies

Winter OSR is the most widely grown making up about 90% of the annual area planted. Sowing normally takes place in August, with harvest 11 months later. The market is dominated by hybrid types that are capable of delivering high seed yields and good disease resistance. Most breeders have now introduced yield protecting traits such as pod-shatter resistance, phoma / light leaf spot resistance and Turnip Virus Yellows resistance to their new varieties. These genetic advancements have helped to lift yields massively in the last 5-6 years which now makes it very achievable for growers to target 5 tonnes/hectare from their OSR crops each year. In addition, new sowing and cultivation techniques, along with a better understanding of plant density and canopy management, has helped greatly to improve the reliability and consistency of performance of OSR in the field.

The market for OSR in Ireland is limited. Currently, there are no commercial crushing plants operating in Ireland, so a lot of the produce has to be exported abroad to the UK. Some also goes into Northern Ireland for use in poultry feeds. Ideally, it would be great if we could crush the seed in Ireland and use the high-protein by-product (oilseed rape meal) in our livestock sector, rather than importing same back from the UK or further afield. There is also a limited market opportunity for rapeseed oil for use as cooking oil and for culinary purposes