OIL SEED RAPE

Abstract

Rapeseed is the only oilseed crop grown in the UK. This is now Britain's third largest arable crop with a total area of over 200 thousand hectares. Production of the seed has risen consistently and dramatically from 0.13 million tonnes in 1977 to 0.58 million tonnes in 1982. The dramatic rise in the crop is apparent from the wider spreading of golden yellow flower fields in our countryside during the spring. Last year, however, seed production was about 5% down due to a small decrease in yield of about 1 tonne/acre, on average. World production of rapeseed and mustard seed (related members of the Cruciferae family: B. campestris, B. napus and B. juncea) has also expanded over the last decade, and the combined crop now lies fifth in oil‐bearing seed production and ranks fourth in the world supply of edible vegetable oils after soyabean, palm and sunflower oils. As a result of EEC support for the crop, production of rapeseed in 1982 rose by 35% to 2.7 million tonnes in EEC countries.

Citation

Kochhar, S.P. and Rossell, J.B. (1984), "OIL SEED RAPE", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 84 No. 4, pp. 14-15. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb059021