Oilseed rape

[HeyWayne]

On my drive home through the lanes I pass several fields, some of which are growing oilseed rape. I noticed the other day that some are already flowering. Always makes me feel summery.

[Headfry]

Me too HW, I can see flowers on some of the fields round here!! seems to get more early every year!!

[petal]

I hate the stuff, my 12 year old son is allergic to it.

[roadkill]

I hate the stuff, my 12 year old son is allergic to it.

same here but i spend most of my time in it or next to it protecting it from those damn pigeons

[zazen999]

j'kno what - i was in Leeds this morning and on the way back; spotted exactly the same thing.

[lainey lou]

It's flowering round here too, unfortunatly it sets my husbands hayfever off flowering!).

[Two_Sheds]

I think Oilseed Rape is going to blanket the UK in years to come, due to its importance as a biofuel and as a healthy cooking oil.

However, it is a significant cause of hayfever 1 , and I believe it is increasing the number of pests we gardeners have to contend with, eg. wood pigeons 2, cabbage white butterflies and cabbage moths, cabbage root fly, mealy cabbage aphid, flea beetle, pollen beetle and turnip sawfly.

1) Oilseed Rape Allergy Syndrome
2) Since the 1970s the population has increased rapidly, which may be a result of the expansion of oilseed rape, which allows them to feed all year round
3) In late summer there is a significant migration of adult beetles from oilseed rape fields into gardens & allotments

[Headfry]

There are site around that say OSR is not good for you?

[zazen999]

I also noticed that veg oil in shops isn't veg oil anymore, but rapeseed oil.

[Polly Fouracre]

I love the sight of a field of oil-seed rape. It glows, even on the dullest of days, but it does awful things to my sinuses.
Also it makes me think of G.M. crops and so seens a bit sinister!

[di]

I've not noticed any OSR but my sinuses have been really playing up today!maybe.....

[smallblueplanet]

There are site around that say OSR is not good for you?

Interesting article in the Guardian from last year:

....oilseed rape is a newcomer to our tables. It has been cultivated for thousands of years, but as a lamp oil. It took the highest level of plant breeding after the second world war to make what was a toxic substance fit for human consumption. Greedy for nutrients and notoriously dependent on nitrogen-rich fertilisers, oilseed rape is among the worst arable crops for leaching nitrates into waterways and polluting aquifers. It is one of the crops that led to the setting up of nitrate sensitive areas and nitrate vulnerable zones across the EU.

Oilseed rape is also plagued by a long list of pests and diseases - everything from cabbage stem flea beetle and peach potato aphid to black leg fungus and white stem rot - all of which require chemicals to keep them under control. A 2004 report from the Office of National Statistics states that oilseed rape crops receive on average three herbicides, two fungicides and two insecticides during the course of a growing season.
As a consequence of the intensive way in which they are grown on vast swathes of land, oilseed rape varieties are developing resistance to many of the pesticides routinely used. "For all these reasons, it is almost never grown or recommended as a crop on organic farms. It is a classic example of a crop designed for intensive agriculture," says Richard Sanders, policy and communications director at Elm Farm Research Centre, which develops and supports sustainable land use.


Some of the chemicals used in the growing of oilseed rape also cause concern. Nick Mole, UK and Europe coordinator for the Pesticides Action Network, points to the herbicide glufosinate ammonium and vinclozolin, "a fungicide that is also suspected to be an endocrine [hormone] disrupter".
"Neither of these chemicals are now commonly used as the farmer's first choice," insists Richard Elsdon, technical director of the industry body United Oilseeds.


And what of all those people who are adamant that exposure to oilseed rape triggers breathing difficulties, streaming eyes and hayfever symptoms? Every year the Department of Health receives complaints about eye and upper respiratory tract irritation in people who live near fields, possibly due to an allergy to pollen, direct irritation caused by the volatile organic compounds emitted by the plants, or airborne mould spores. Some doctors have suggested that oilseed rape may sensitise people to pollen or cross-react with grass pollen to cause problems. No other British crop exposes people to such an overpowering presence of pollen....

Joanna Blythman investigates the effect of oilseed rape | UK news | The Guardian

[Headfry]

First bit of info, cant remember the name of the rapeseed cooking oil, it goes under something like 'sun oil' any ideas, I know I read a huge bit about it! and not all of it was good news!!



'Whats in a name?
Rapeseed has been around for thousands of years, primarily cultivated in Asia and Europe. But rapeseed oil is loaded with erucic acid, which has been shown to cause lesions of the heart - not a good side effect. So a little genetic manipulation by some plant breeders in Canada created a variety of rapeseed that produced an oil low in erucic acid. They called it LEAR oil, an acronym for Low Erucic Acid Rapeseed.'

[Two_Sheds]

First bit of info, cant remember the name of the rapeseed cooking oil

It's called Canola in the States. It's monosaturated like olive oil, is high in Omega 3, so is being promoted as healthy, by brands like Yellow Fields.

[petal]

However, it is a significant cause of hayfever 1 , and I believe it is increasing the number of pests we gardeners have to contend with, eg. wood pigeons 2, cabbage white butterflies and cabbage moths, cabbage root fly, mealy cabbage aphid, flea beetle, pollen beetle and turnip sawfly. Yes whenever it is grown next to our house my son's hayfever is awful and our garden is totally invaded by these bugs!!