Spring Rape - April

Ploughing is underway and is nearly always followed very quickly by other cultivations and drilling. At this time of year soil moisture loss can be high and a dry seedbed would lead to poor and uneven germination of the crop.

Drilling is underway. Oilseed rape likes to be sown into a firm but fine seedbed. Large heavy clods can prevent the young seedlings from emerging and increase the surface area of the soil leading to moisture loss.

The small seeds of oilseed rape have been coated with a "seed dressing". This is a chemical that helps reduce disease and insect attack. The blue colouration is a dye that marks the seed so that the drill operator knows that a treatment has been applied.

The image illustrates the inside of a seed drill. The rectangular shaped boxes are controls to allow the creation of tramlines. These shut off the supply of seeds to the coulters that drill the seed into the soil.