Build resilience with Bridgeway

With so many challenges in oilseed rape, it’s no wonder some growers are throwing in the towel this Autumn and switching to alternative break crops. For those that stick with it, establishing a crop with get-up-and-go will be crucial, and biostimulant Bridgeway is more than up for the challenge.

A rapid start in good growing conditions is the ideal environment for an oilseed rape crop that goes on to yield +5t/ha. However, the tiny oilseed rape seed has only sufficient nutrients and energy to grow a small root system before having to rely on nutrients from the soil.

Biostimulant Bridgeway from two true leaves can be a useful insurance to promote plant establishment in the Autumn, possibly helping plants move away from early cabbage stem flea beetle pressure, whilst greater tolerance and higher metabolic efficiency offers resilience to the effects of environmental stress and crop protection product application.

Independent research at the University of Nottingham in 2019 has shown that Bridgeway significantly increases root and corresponding shoot growth in oilseed rape.

Pathologist Dr. Steve Rossall designed tests to investigate the effect of Bridgeway on early root growth in oilseed rape. Treatments were applied at 2 true leaves (GS12) and assessed 30 days later. Bridgeway at 1 L/ha increased root growth by 82% over untreated control plants and was statistically significant at 95% confidence limits (Fig 1). Bridgeway at 2 L/ha increased rooting even further, by 112% over the untreated. This increase was statistically significant over the untreated and Bridgeway at 1 L/ha.

Increased rooting also led to corresponding increases in shoot growth of 27% at 1 L/ha and 43% at 2 L/ha (Fig 2) which were statistically significant at 95% confidence limits.