Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T21:53:22.215Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Declining rapeseed yields in Finland: how, why and what next?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2007

P. PELTONEN-SAINIO ,
L. JAUHIAINEN  and
A. HANNUKKALA
P. PELTONEN-SAINIO*
Affiliation:
MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Plant Production Research, FI-31600 Jokioinen, Finland
L. JAUHIAINEN
Affiliation:
MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Research Services, FI-31600 Jokioinen, Finland
A. HANNUKKALA
Affiliation:
MTT Agrifood Research Finland, Plant Production Research, FI-31600 Jokioinen, Finland
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Average seed yields per hectare of Brassica oilseed crops in Finland, mainly summer turnip rape (Brassica rapa L. var. oleifera subvar. annua), which covers 0·93–0·99 of the total oil crop cultivation area depending on year, have fallen dramatically during the last 15 years. This downward trend is contrary to those in other temperate regions, where rapeseed yields have increased or levelled off after reaching a relatively high level. The 5-year moving averages for Finland show that seed yield started to diminish gradually after reaching its highest level of over 1700 kg/ha in the early 1990s. By 2005 it had fallen to 1270 kg/ha. The present study evaluated the possible reasons for the recorded collapse in Finnish turnip rape yields. All the statistical analyses were based on large, previously produced, datasets from multi-location Agrifood Research Finland (MTT) Official Variety Tests, Finnish Food Safety Authority (EVIRA) Seed Testing datasets and the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland (TIKE) national production datasets. Results from MTT trials indicated that the latest turnip rape cultivars were more sensitive to elevated temperatures at late seed set and during seed fill – and such temperatures often occurred during the years of greatest yield reduction. When taking into account how commonly sown these cultivars were at national level during the last 10 years, increased sensitivity contributed to up to two thirds of the recorded yield reduction. Even though the growing area of turnip rape has slightly exceeded 100 000 ha, after long being 60 000–70 000 ha, by extending cultivation to more northern areas of Finland, such changes do not explain the yield collapse according to data from TIKE. Furthermore, lower national yields do not stem from larger, but rather are associated with narrower within year variation in seed yield. Additional empirical work is needed to understand the causes of increased temperature sensitivity in modern cultivars (e.g. possible linkage to drought, diseases and/or drastically increased seed energy content). Furthermore, a national survey is essential for a thorough and up-to-date picture of the prevalence of pests and diseases in turnip rape and their contribution to reduced yields.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 145 , Issue 6 , December 2007 , pp. 587 - 598
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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

Aksouh, N. M., Jacobs, B. C., Stoddard, F. L. & Mailer, R. J. (2001). Response of canola to different heat stresses. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 817–824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, P. M. & Spink, J. H. (2006). A physiological analysis of oilseed rape yields: past and future. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 144, 381–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAOSTAT 2006 (2006). Agricultural data. Available online at http://www.fao.org/statistics (verified 19/6/07).Google Scholar
Finlay, K. W. & Wilkinson, G. N. (1963). The analysis of adaptation in a plant-breeding programme. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 14, 742–754.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gan, Y., Angadi, S. V., Cutforth, H., Potts, D., Angadi, V. V. & McDonald, C. L. (2004). Canola and mustard response to short periods of temperature and water stress at different developmental stages. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 84, 697–704.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hannukkala, A. (1988). Diseases of rapeseed in Finland. GCIRC Bulletin 4, 23–25.Google Scholar
Järvi, A., Kangas, A., Mattila, I., Mäkelä, L., Rahkonen, A., Salo, Y., Vuorinen, M. & Öfversten, J. (1998). Virallisten lajikekokeiden suoritusohjeet (Guidelines for conducting official variety trials). Maatalouden tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja. Sarja B 14. 69 p. MTT Agrifood Research Finland (in Finnish).Google Scholar
McNaughton, I. H. (1995). Swedes and rapes. In Evolution of Crops Plants, 2nd edn (Eds Smartt, J. & Simmonds, N. W.), pp. 68–75. Harlow, Essex, UK: Longman Scientific and Technical.Google Scholar
Mogensen, V. O., Jensen, C. R., Mortensen, G., Andersen, M. N., Schjoerring, J. K., Thage, J. H. & Koribidis, J. (1997). Pod photosynthesis and drought adaptation of field grown rape (Brassica napus L.). European Journal of Agronomy 6, 295–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, J. M. & Stewart, D. W. (2002). Heat stress during flowering in summer Brassica. Crop Science 42, 797–803.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mukula, J. & Rantanen, O. (1987). Climatic risks to the yield and quality of field crops in Finland. I. Basic facts about Finnish field crops production. Annales Agriculturae Fenniae 26, 1–18.Google Scholar
Öfversten, J., Jauhiainen, L., Nikander, H. & Salo, Y. (2002). Assessing and predicting the local performance of spring wheat varieties. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 139, 397–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piepho, H.-P. (1997). Analyzing genotype–environment data by mixed models with multiplicative terms. Biometrics 53, 761–766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SAS Institute Inc. (1999). SAS/STAT User's Guide, Version 8. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.Google Scholar
Si, P. & Walton, G. H. (2004). Determinants of oil concentration and seed yield in canola and Indian mustard in the lower rainfall areas of Western Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 55, 367–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thurling, N. & Kaveeta, R. (1992 a). Yield improvement of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in a low rainfall environment. I. Utilization of genes for early flowering in primary and secondary gene pools. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 43, 609–622.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thurling, N. & Kaveeta, R. (1992 b). Yield improvement of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in a low rainfall environment. II. Agronomic performance of lines selected on the basis of pre-anthesis development. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 43, 623–633.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Twengström, E., Sigvald, R., Svensson, C. & Yuen, J. (1998). Forecasting Sclerotinia stem rot in spring sown oilseed rape. Crop Protection 17, 405–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallenhammar, A. C. (1996). Prevalence of Plasmodiophora brassicae in a spring oilseed rape growing area in central Sweden and factors influencing soil infestation levels. Plant Pathology 45, 710–719.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, P. R., Morgan, J. M., Jessop, R. S. & Cass, A. (1995). Comparative adaptation of canola (Brassica napus) and Indian mustard (B. juncea) to soil water deficits: yield and yield components. Field Crops Research 42, 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar