The rapeseed harvest is close to completion, it is already close to 90% and producers who work in different parts of the country with this oilseed agreed that returns are better than expectedbut also there were no quality problems and the percentage of oil is positive, around 45%.
“There was a lot of fear, because the crop developed with a lack of water, both during the vegetative and reproductive stages”admitted to The Observer Roberto Verdera, president of the Oilseed Technology Board (MTO) and member of the Mercedes Agrarian Cooperative (Calmer).
But, despite the water deficit –which led the government to decree an agricultural emergency in several areas of the national territory–, the farms “performed better than the estimates said”indicated.
In the last harvest, in the Mercedes area, averages of between 1,800 and 1,900 kilos per hectare were achieved, and in this, as was said with a dry plant installed, productivity reached an average of 1,600 kilos per hectare.
As Verdera commented, in places where it rained better, up to 2,000 kilos per hectare were achieved.
In Colonia and San José, departments where the agronomist Micaela Waller worked during this season with the rapeseed crop, the yields were also better than expected, he indicated.
Without yet having a general average, he said that in some farms 1,800 kilos per hectare were produced, in others 2,000 and in some it reached 3,000 kilos.
Coinciding with Verdera, he mentioned that no grain quality problems were seen. “The balance is very positive”, highlighted the engineer.
John Samuelle
Grain quality was not affected by the lack of rain.
The data
In the 2021/22 harvest, the average yield in rapeseed was 1,813 kg/ha, based on official data. This year, if the productivity per hectare is similar when the threshing is finished, in an area of almost 270,000 hectares, some 500,000 tons of grain can be obtained, unprecedented production for the winter oilseed.
oil and moisture
Verdera explained that despite the condition of the water deficit, the rapeseed crop did not suffer problems in the percentage of oil generated. According to him, this is around 45%, which is positive for producers because “it is above the base.”
On the other hand, he stressed that despite the lack of water, in all the harvests there is a very important percentage of the harvest that must be sent to dry, because “It is very difficult to average low humidity in the farms”. In this sense, he maintained that farmers have to be very cautious and not wait for the crop to dry out based on moisture receipt, because grain loss may occur.
In this harvest, 267,253 hectares of rapeseed were planted throughout the country, which meant a record area for this crop, which, in addition, was the one that grew the most in area in winter crops, more than the traditional wheat and barley.
The winter harvest was carried out with an area that exceeded 750,000 planted hectares in total, which was also a record, according to data published by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP).
