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NW Washington | Rape and Canola are commonly grown in northern Europe so it must be able to stand fairly wet or damp conditions. Small acrages of winter rape have been grown in north Idaho for years and the winters and springs are fairly wet. I suspect there are some differences in varities. The winter varieties must be planted early for the plant to be up to a good rosette stage in the fall in order to make it through the winter, especially if you winters are severe. There are limited herbicides available. In the Pacific NW spring canola is plagued with insect problems starting with flea beetles when it emerges then you graduate to cabbage pod weevils and aphids. Flea beetle usually are not a problem in the fall. Big expenses for a low valued crop. Then come harvesting. A bad job at best. Green pithy stalks and ripe seeds what scatter if you breath on them and the branches of the large tall plants are all tangled together. The Europeans use a header which has the sickle and header bottom moved forward about 18 to 14 inches so the reel can stuff the plants into the header auger and not shatter all the seed on the ground. A vertical sickle is used on the right end to slice through the tangles plants and get them to feed better. Spring canola is commonly swathed when fairly green and them combined using a pickup header which make things much easier. Cleaning and keeping the tiny slick seeds in the combine is another challenge. A fun crop.... The University of Idaho is has one of the only plant breeding programs in the country for brassica crops, like canola , rape and mustard. The head guy is professor Jack Brown and I know he will turn up on a google.com search or look up the U of Idaho ag college or ag extension.
Our German friend on this page, Countryman, grows the stuff in Germany. He should be a good source of info. | |
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Canola in central Kansas
