Oil seed radish

Oil seed radish (Raphanus sativus) is one of the most widely used cover crops. The crop has a fast development and, depending on the variety, flowers early or late. Our oil seed radish varieties stay fairly short, making them easy to incorporate. Due to the fast initial development, oil seed radish is also a good cover crop for late sowing.

Nematode resistance

We have succeeded in breeding oil seed radish varieties with different resistances to nematodes. In the 90s, major successes were already achieved in breeding in the field of beet cyst nematodes, Heterodera schachtii and Heterodera betae. The resistant varieties Adios and Final emerged from this success. We have also been commercialising multi-resistant varieties like Anaconda, Doublet, and Terranova. The varieties which are marked as multi-resistant are not only resistant to beet cyst nematode, but are also resistant to root knot nematodes like Meloidogyne chitwoodi, M. fallax and M. hapla and/or tropical root knot nematodes like Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica.

Soil borne pathogens

Oil seed radish is generally not susceptible to clubroot (Plasmodiophora brassicae) but in trials we see variation. Through selection we succeeded in developing varieties that, according to independent research, are resistant towards the most important fysio’s in West Europe. Historically many soil borne pathogens have been controlled using herbicides and seed treatments, many of these treatments are no longer allowed. The effect of cover crops on soil borne pathogens is therefor becoming increasingly important.

If you want to know more about the effect on nematodes and/or soil borne pathogens due to oil seed radish read more here

¹ Based on moderate climate zone (North-West and Central Europa)