Hybrid promises do not travel to the field because of the current trialling system, claims one oilseed breeder. Don't be fooled by high hybrid yields -- much of the apparent difference could be down to the way oilseed rape is trialled, according toNickerson's senior oilseed breeder, Jo Bowman. German official trials have revealed hybrid varieties behave like bullies in the trial plots. They compete vigorously with conventional varieties and overshadow them. This helps to exaggerate the yield difference, says Dr Bowman. "These differences are not transferred to the field, where all plants are of the same variety and the competitive effect is not an issue. Growers of hybrids have expected a few more trailer loads to come off the field at harvest and have found this simply hasn't happened." The trials occurred over two years. In the first year (1999), plots of conventional varieties were separated from hybrids. After harvest, results were classed depending on whether the variety was tall or short.For both height classifications, hybrids out-yielded conventional varieties by about 4 percent -- a fairly typical result for hybrids. Tall varieties also outclassed short varieties by about 2 percent.
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