Pre-sowing treatment of winter rapeseed seed with special fertilizers is a measure rarely used because of the specifics of the crop. As a rule farms sow seed that has undergone the appropriate treatment at seed plants. For farms that prepare seed themselves we recommend using the special fertilizer GROS Rootgrowth as one of the tank mix components at 1.5 l/t of seed. The main direction in feeding winter rapeseed crops is foliar feeding in the key growth and development stages.

Autumn foliar feedings of winter rapeseed plants are needed to ensure the formation of a powerful root system and accumulation of sugars for successful overwintering, as well as to balance mineral nutrition conditions at the start of the formation of yield components, which takes place mainly in autumn. The differentiation of generative organs in winter rapeseed plants takes place when plants are at the rosette stage (6–8 leaves). Balanced mineral nutrition and a longer period of bud formation at the top of the root collar ensure a higher yield. Insufficient nutrient supply with late rapeseed sowing dates is one of the main causes of low yields that we observed on trial crops in Poltava region this year. The rapeseed seed yield in the control was the lowest, 21.2 c/ha, compared with yields above 40 c/ha in Dnipropetrovsk and Ternopil regions. At the same time, spring foliar feedings with special fertilizers from ECOORGANIC on late crops were the most effective. The yield gain was almost 25% over the control.

For successful overwintering, plants should be supplied from autumn with key mineral nutrients. Acute boron shortage in autumn can inhibit the growth and development of the root system, cause insufficient development of vascular bundles and the growing point, reduce sugar accumulation and their transport to the root collar and worsen frost and winter hardiness of the plant and overwintering in general, which leads to deformation and hollowness of the rapeseed root system.

Boron shortage most often shows on soils of light texture, waterlogged, acidic and limed soils, and in periods of severe drought. On this basis we suggest the following options for foliar feeding with ECOORGANIC fertilizers:

On crops with visual signs of boron shortage – ECOLINE Boron (Premium) at 1.0–1.5 l/ha.

On uneven crops where, as a result of uneven emergence and in areas of late sowing, part of the plants lag in growth, foliar feeding with the special fertilizer GROS Rootgrowth at 1.0–1.5 l/ha is needed to strengthen the phytohormonal balance in plants and ensure intensive root formation.

When rapeseed plants show stress we recommend foliar feeding with the composition ECOLINE Phosphite (K) at 1.0–1.5 l/ha + ECOLINE Boron (Premium) at 0.5–1.0 l/ha. Why do we recommend boron with amino acids? First of all, because of the unstable autumn weather, so that plants can take up boron as quickly as possible to accumulate sugars in the root collar.

On fields with soils of light texture, eroded soils, where magnesium and boron shortage may appear, we recommend using ECOLINE Boron (Premium) at 1.0 l/ha + ECOLINE Magnesium (Chelates) 1.0–1.5 l/ha + ECOLINE Phosphite (K) 1.0–2.0 l/ha.

ECOORGANIC, a domestic producer of high-quality foliar feeding fertilizers, offers on the market a wide range of products of various levels for correcting mineral nutrition conditions of winter rapeseed in autumn. These include in particular: ECOLINE Boron (Organic), ECOLINE Boron (Premium), ECOLINE Magnesium (Chelate), ECOLINE Molybdenum (Complex), ECOLINE Copper (Chelate), ECOLINE Manganese (Chelate), ECOLINE Zinc (Chelate), ECOLINE Phosphite (K), GROS Rootgrowth. Other compositions can also be used if the plants' need for particular nutrients is established by laboratory analysis.

Stupenko O.V., Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, agronomist-consultant of ECOORGANIC LLC