Cereals 2021: New Clearfield OSR offers step up in yield

Oilseed rape growers looking to grow a Clearfield variety to tackle weed problems can benefit from a new variety offering a step up in yield along with resistance to pod shatter and two key diseases.

Matrix is the first commercially available UK Clearfield variety that also offers turnip yellows virus resistance, pod shatter resistance and RL7 phoma resistance, says the company’s Sarah Hawthorne.

See also: Oilseed rape varieties to choose now and candidates coming up

Clearfield varieties are tolerant to the post-emergence herbicide imazamox, which offers growers a valuable way to manage difficult-to-control weeds such as charlock and also volunteer OSR.

Up for recommendation this autumn, the variety allows growers to benefit from this herbicide without facing the potential drop in performance shown in the previous generations of Clearfield varieties.

Matrix OSR plot at Cereals 2021

Matrix oilseed rape plot © MAG/David Jones

With a yield of 103%, it is the highest yielding Clearfield variety currently available to UK growers.

It performed particularly well in the East/West region where it has achieved a gross output of more than 108% and has a good oil content of 46%.

“It’s got the best agronomic package seen in any Clearfield variety to date,” Ms Hawthorne says.

Seed is available for growers to drill this summer.

Other key candidate varieties

  • Group 4 hard wheat Champion tops the 2021/22 AHDB Candidate List with a UK yield of 105.3% and 108% for the east. “Suited to a range of soil types and growing conditions, DSV Champion is the perfect ‘barn-busting’ choice for all locations and management approaches,” said Ms Hawthorne. 
  • Sensation winter barley combines barley yellow dwarf virus tolerance and resistance to mosaic viruses (BYMV1 + 2). “DSV Sensation is one of the earliest heading BYDV varieties tested and has achieved strong results in European trials,” she said.