A Detailed Guide to Seed Selection and Seedling Raising Methods for Rapeseed

Every year when a particular season arrives, many scenic areas use vast stretches of rapeseed fields as a major selling point, so more people now grow rapeseed flowers than before. So how do you select rapeseed seeds? What seedling raising methods are there?

1. How much is rapeseed per jin?

As everyone knows, the price of rapeseed oil is not cheap now, but rapeseed itself is not as expensive as one might imagine; the cheaper kind costs one or two yuan per jin, while the more expensive kind costs four or five yuan per jin.

2. What varieties of rapeseed are there?

1. Aiza No. 1

Approved by the National Crop Variety Approval Committee in 1989 and named GS Aiza No. 1. This variety is a hybrid developed by the Department of Horticulture of Nanjing Agricultural University and the Nanjing Vegetable Research Institute using sterile plants of the Aijiaohuang male-sterile two-purpose line and a short white petiole self-incompatible line. Plant height 40-45 cm, spread 40-50 cm, plant type erect, slightly waisted. Leaves ovate, light green. Petioles white, flat to semicircular, 10-14.5 cm long, 3.5-5.5 cm wide. Single plant weight about 0.5 kg. It is an early-maturing variety. Tender texture with few fibers, mild flavor, relatively heat tolerant.

2. Siyue Man

A Shanghai farmer variety. Plant height 20-24 cm, spread 30-35 cm, plant erect, waisted. Head diameter 9-10 cm. Leaves ovate, leaf length 12-15 cm, width 10-13 cm, dark green, leaf surface smooth and relatively thick. Petioles greenish white, flat and slightly concave, relatively thick and fleshy, petiole length 6-8 cm, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. Single plant weight 0.5-0.75 kg, yield per 667 sq m 1000-1500 kg. Strong cold resistance, late bolting, few coarse fibers, good quality. After spring planting, harvest in about 45 days; sown in autumn, harvest in about 40 days.

3. Piaoer Cai A Nanjing farmer variety. Belongs to the tatai type, plant semi-prostrate. Leaves dark green and nearly round, leaf surface wrinkled, petioles white, heart leaves have two types, yellow-green and green; in winter the heart leaves can curl inward to form a small ball, yellow inside and green outside, with distinct colors and a unique shape, good quality, slow growth, strong cold resistance.

4. Nannong Aijiaohuang

A new autotetraploid rapeseed variety developed by inducing seedlings of the Nanjing Aijiaohuang diploid with autumn narcissus solution and then carrying out years of repeated identification and selection. This variety has a plant height of 28.8 cm and a spread of 31.7 cm. The average number of leaves per plant is 20, the largest leaf is 22 cm long and 19 cm wide, nearly round, emerald green. Petioles white, 9 cm long, 1.4 cm thick, belonging to the semicircular stem type. Single plant weight 485 g, growth period 60-80 days. Yield per 667 sq m 2000-2500 kg. Excellent quality, sweet, crisp and tender in flavor. Strong cold resistance, no serious freezing damage under short periods at -5°C, late bolting, strong resistance to viral disease and downy mildew. Not suitable for storage and transport, needs to be marketed promptly. This variety is mostly sown in stages in autumn and harvested in stages; in winter and spring it can be raised or cultivated in greenhouses, and is more suitable for intercropping with fruit vegetables in protected areas to improve economic returns.

5. Qingbang Rapeseed

A fine local variety from Beijing. Plant height 35.6 cm, spread 26.5-38.5 cm. Plant erect, whole plant has 15-20 leaves, leaf length 13.6 cm, width 11 cm, leaf tip nearly round, front dark green, back slightly lighter, leaf surface smooth and slightly glossy. Petiole length 20 cm, width 2.7 cm, thickness 0.37 cm, light green, erect and upward, larger at the base, forming a waist-like shape; both leaf blades and petiole surfaces have white wax powder. Single plant weight 130-250 g, maximum can reach more than 500 g. Relatively strong disease resistance and cold resistance, relatively tolerant of storage and transport. Medium quality. Yield per 667 sq m 2000-3000 kg. Suitable for spring and autumn open-field cultivation and winter protected cultivation. (Source: China Agriculture Press)

3. Rapeseed seedling raising methods

1. Select good varieties

Replacing degraded low-yield old varieties and introducing and selecting good varieties is a key measure to increase unit yield, and selection should be adapted to local conditions according to the local climate, variety growth period and other conditions. For example, for early-maturing varieties (growth period about 120 days), local rapeseed varieties can be selected; for medium- and late-maturing varieties.

2. Fine land preparation

After harvesting medium and late rice, plow the land and break up the soil, make beds and open furrows; the bed width should be 1.5 m, bed height 12-17 cm, the bed surface fine, broken and level, and field ditches and surrounding drainage ditches should be opened well.

3. Transplant at the right time, with rational close planting

When the seedling age reaches 30-35 days, transplant promptly, with row spacing 40 cm and plant spacing 20-27 cm. For medium- and late-maturing varieties, plant 0.8-1 million plants per 667 sq m; for early-maturing varieties, plant 1.2-1.4 million plants per 667 sq m. Early-maturing varieties can also be direct-seeded in holes, with hole spacing 27 cm x 33 cm, sowing 5-8 seeds per hole, then thinning to leave 1 plant. After raising seedlings and transplanting, check for missing plants and fill gaps promptly.

4. Scientific fertilization

Farmyard manure and phosphate fertilizer should be composted and decomposed before sowing or transplanting, applying 1000 kg of high-quality farmyard manure and 20-25 kg of phosphate fertilizer per 667 sq m. For direct-seeded rapeseed, once 3 true leaves have grown, apply a seedling-promoting fertilizer combined with thinning and final spacing, applying 4-5 kg of urea and 2-3 kg of potassium chloride per 667 sq m. For seedling transplanting, apply 1000 kg of diluted manure water per 667 sq m at the green-up stage, or apply 8-10 kg of urea per 667 sq m.

5. Scientific irrigation and drainage

Rapeseed growth fears both drought and waterlogging; in water management, it should be possible to irrigate in drought and drain in waterlogging, keeping the bed furrows and surrounding ditches unobstructed to facilitate irrigation and drainage. Water demand is high during the bolting and flowering stages, so water supply should be ensured. During the seedling stage and the flowering and pod-setting stage, pay attention to preventing waterlogging in the field.

6. Harvest at the right time

About 30 days after the end of the full flowering stage of rapeseed, when about 2/3 of the siliques are yellow and most of the seeds inside the siliques have changed from green to yellow or red, it can be harvested; after harvesting, spread and sun-dry for 1 day, then thresh, and dry and process promptly.

That is all for today's introduction to rapeseed. If you still want to learn more about the 2020 rapeseed price market, friends can continue to follow updates from Nongxun Network.

For wonderful pictures and texts and popular comments about rapeseed seed selection and seedling raising methods, you may be interested in the content recommended below by Nongxun Network. Welcome to read.

Agricultural products you may be interested in:Nationwide supply of high-quality rapeseed