Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wg55d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-05T09:33:30.039Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A quantitative comparison of the growth, development and yield of different varieties of oilseed rape

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

E. J. Allen
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Biology, University of Cambridge
D. G. Morgan
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Biology, University of Cambridge

Summary

A field experiment to compare the growth, development and yields of four varieties of oilseed rape, Cresus, Guile, Rigo and Nilla, is described and the results discussed. Cressus was the highest-yielding variety largely because it produced more pods and more seeds per pod. The numbers of pods and seeds per pod were positively correlated with the leaf area index at the onset of flowering. This suggests that the rate of supply of carbon assimilates to the inflorescences around the time of anthesis is an important yield-determining character. The mean weight of the individual seeds was greater in Cresus than Guile and this difference, which developed late on in pod growth, also contributed to the higher yields in Cresus.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allen, E. J., Morgan, D. G. & Ridgman, W. J. (1971). A physiological analysis of the growth of oilseed rape. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 77, 339–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allen, E. J. & Morgan, D. G. (1972). A quantitative analysis of the effects of nitrogen on the growth, development and yield of oilseed rape. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 78, 315–24.Google Scholar
Beever, J. E. & Woolhouse, H. W. (1973). Increased cytokinin from root system of Perilla frutescens and flower and fruit development. Nature, New Biology, 246, no. 149, 31–2.Google Scholar
Hughes, M. (1969). Determination of moisture and oil in the seed of winter rape (Brassica napus). II. Comparison of extraction methods for the estimation of oil. Journal of Science, Food and Agriculture 20, 745–7.Google Scholar
Meadley, J. T. & Milbourn, G. M. (1971). The growth of vining peas. III. The effect of shading on abscission of flowers and pods. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 77, 103–8.Google Scholar
Plant Breeding Institute (1973). Annual Report, p. 122.Google Scholar
Tayo, T. (1974). The analysis of the physiological basis of yield in oil seed rape (Brassica napus L.). Ph.D. thesis. University of Cambridge.Google Scholar