New Marathon hybrid achieves highest seed yield
With the highest seed yield of all varieties on the HGCA’s 2013/14 Recommended List, DSV’s new Marathon oilseed rape hybrid delivers an outstanding gross output with impressive standing power, says Sarah Lockhart of DSV UK Ltd.
Not only does Marathon achieve a seed yield 105% of the control it also has the best stem and lodging characteristics of the top five yielding varieties on the list, following in the footsteps of DSV’s hugely successful Compass variety.
“Marathon is underpinned by the same breeding values as Compass, so it’s a good, strong high yielding hybrid that performs well in both ideal and adverse conditions,” Sarah says.
“It has been bred to produce ideal stem characteristics scoring 7.9 for resistance to lodging and 8.0 for stem stiffness and stands at 153cm helping to ensure a fast and efficient harvest with less stem to process.”
Growth habit is vigorous in both Spring and Autumn with early flowering and medium maturity enabling a long flowering period to ensure maximum pod fill and yields. In addition, it provides a good package for disease resistance on a par with other high performing varieties on the Recommended List.
Frontier Agriculture’s Northern seed manager David Waite says Marathon’s high yields combined with exceptional in-field performance will make it very popular with growers.
“Marathon presents the ideal model that oilseed rape growers are now looking for following the high incidences of lodging last year.
“It’s got the yield and gross output that every producer wants to see but also the reliability and versatility that is increasingly important in the UK. The varieties with 8’s for lodging resistance and stem stiffness are really standing out from other varieties now.
“I think a lot of growers will also be reassured that it comes from the same stable as Compass, which we sell an awful lot of and which has delivered real performance despite the highly variable growing conditions of recent years and the extreme lodging pressure of last year.”
