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 What is oilseed rape used for? How much is planted in Ireland? What are the issues with growing oilseed rape in Ireland? GM oilseed rape Global distribution of GM oilseed rape What is oilseed rape used for? Recently there has been an increased interest in growing oilseed rape for the production of biodiesel in Ireland. One of the main drivers of this comes from the European Union's commitment to promote renewable fuels. The European Union's aims, stated in the EU Biofuels Directive, is to increase consumption of biofuels in Europe to 5.75% of total fuel consumption by the year 2010. Rape oil is extracted form the plant seeds in oil mills and then processed into biodiesel in manufacturing plants. It takes approximately three tonnes of rape seed to produce one tonne of rape oil. How much is planted in Ireland? Being a relatively minor crop in Ireland, the area cultivated in 2006 was 5,100 hectares (see graph). However, this is expected to increase in the coming years with the removal of sugar beet as the traditional break crop in cereal rotations. Though both spring and winter varieties are available, winter varieties predominate in Ireland. Sown in early autumn, the crop flowers in the following April/May (see image) with harvesting occurring 10 - 12 weeks thereafter  What are the issues with growing oilseed rape in Ireland? As with other crops cultivated in Ireland, oilseed rape is susceptible to several fungal diseases such as light leaf spot and stem rot, all of which can significantly impact on crop yields. In addition, oilseed rape suffers from competition with weeds, especially grasses, which are significant nutrient competitors. Premature pod shattering is a major problem prior to and during harvesting, with losses of up to 25% of yield not uncommon. Other management issues that arise in Ireland include: - High requirement for fungicide and fertiliser imputs
- Uneven ripening of crop
- Too high a ratio of biomass to yield
- Lack of varieties suited to the Irish environment
- Low profit margins
- Control of volunteers (a plant that emerges from fallen seed from the previous crop in the rotation)
GM oilseed rape The first genetically modified (GM) oilseed rape was developed in 1987 (Moloney et al., 1989). To date GM traits incorporated into oilseed rape include male sterility, insect resistance, herbicide tolerance, increased nitrogen-use efficiency, increased oil content and modification of seed oil composition Future traits that could be introduced into oilseed rape include: - Crop hardiness
- Modifications to the length of the growing season
- Shape, firmness, stability of the pods (to reduce seed losses at harvest)
- Yield size of the grains
- Increased oil content and altered oil composition
The development of GM oilseed rape varieties with a higher percentage oil content and extraction rate may become an attractive prospect should the economics of rape oil or biodiesel production become more favourable in the future. The most beneficial modification to Irish oilseed rape growers at present would involve increased resistance to diseases, increased nitrogen-use efficiency, higher yielding crops that deliver greater margins and delayed pod shatter. Global distribution of GM oilseed rape 4.8 million hectares of GM oilseed rape were planted in 2006, with cultivation limited to Canada and USA. All of the GM oilseed rape commercially grown is herbicide tolerant. There is no commercial cultivation of GM oilseed rape in Europe but many field trials have taken place on the continent. Source: - CSO (2007). Crops and livestock survey - June 2006
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food (2007). Compendium of Irish agricultural statistics 2005. http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/index.jsp?file=publicat/compendium2005/home.xml. Accessed 15 Oct 2007
- www.gmo-compass.org
- Hobson, R.N. and Bruce, D.M. (2002). Seed loss when cutting a standing crop of oilseed rape with two types of combine harvester header. Biosystems Engineering 81, 281-286
- Moloney, M.M., Walker, J.M., and Sharma, K. (1989). High efficiency transformation of Brassica napus using Agrobacterium vectors. Plant Cell Reports 8, 238-242
- Sayler (2007). Nitrogen use efficient canola showing early success. ISB News Report. http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2007/artspdf/may0703.pdf. Accessed 24 October 2007
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