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Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Volume 42 Number 2 Article 5

1976

Rapeseed Cultivation and Usage

M. Dolores Ahles St. Gabriel's Hospital

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Recommended Citation Ahles, M. D. (1976). Cultivation and Usage. Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science, Vol. 42 No.2, 15-16. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/jmas/vol42/iss2/5

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science by an authorized editor of University of Minnesota Morris Digital Well. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Rapeseed Cultivation and Usage

ABSTRACT . Rapeseed, an oil-producing that was cultivated in pre-Christian times in and the Orient but was generally given up, has again become an important source of protein oil and meal. In , now the leading export producer, rapeseed output is surpassed only by , , and . Cultivation and processing as well as the history of this crop are discussed.

Sister M. Dolores Ahles*

Agricultural history indicates that the rapeseed crop was The composition of rapeseed meal is approximately cultivated as early as 2000 B.C. in India and introduced 36 percent protein, 2 percent ether extract, 12 percent into Japan and around 35 B.C. Europe produced crude fiber and 50 percent other substances. Amino acids some rapeseed m the thirteenth century .However, production compare favorably with those of meal. Levels of lapsed and apparently did not recover until around the time minerals and vitamins are comparable, but nutritional value of World War II. of the seed is affected by soil, fertility, moisture and Currently China and India yield the largest but climatic conditions. The energy value of rapeseed meal is export very little. In Europe the chief production centers about 87 percent lower than that of soybean meal. However, are East and West , , and Sweden. this varies greatly with the digestibility factor for different Canada has held the world record as exporter of rapeseed animals. since I 961. Chief importers include parts of Asia, Europe Rapeseed meal is used as for ruminants and and Africa. . When supplemented with other sources it can In Canada production of rapeseed on a large scale began be used for a of animals. Recommended rapeseed in the I 940's. By 1968-69 the yield was at a rate of content of rations for young chicks and turkeys is 6,5000,000 bushels annually. This crop is now surpassed 15 percent; for laying and breeding chickens 5 percent, in Canada only by wheat, oats and barley. It is sometimes and for breeding turkeys IO percent. Poul try meal is referred to as the "Cinderella" crop. By 1971-72, the enriched with stabilized to increase metabolizable acreage in Saskatchwan alone was about 3,000,000 bushels. energy. Lysine is an essential amino acid in poultry rations. Varieties of napus and B.campestris yield from It is present in rapeseed meal, but at a slightly lower level 1,500 to 2,500 lbs of seed per acre in parts of Manitoba, than in soybean. However, rapeseed meal is a better source and Alberta. of phosphorus, selenium, zinc and magnesium, than is Rapseed crops require fertile, well-drained soil and thrive soybean. The latter has a slightly higher potassium content. best in climates having sunny days and cool nights. Dry Rapeseed with high content is considered weather is required at harvest time. Crop rotation is by some researchers as undesirable for fodder. They maintain important, alternating the rapeseed with small , but that this acid has a deletarious effect on growth of animals. not with other of rape, mustards or sunflower. However, other animal nutritionists disagree and maintain Canada's prairie provinces have been found ideal for rape that erucic acid is not responsible for stunted growth, but cultivation. rather this factor is due to imbalance of the saturated fats. In the orient rapeseed oil was once used extensively for Breeding experiments have resulted in the production of illumination, and some writers assert that it is still being species of rapeseed with low erucic acid content and since utilized to light some rooms in the emperor's palace in about 1971 Canada has concentrated on the production of Tokyo. This is perhaps only by way of oriental tradition, Brassicae napus varieties Oro and Zephr. but it is a well-established fact that uses are multitudinous. Insect control is an important aspect in the cultivation Oils extracted from the seeds compete in world markets of rapeseed. Flea beetles can be controlled readily by with oils of soybean, peanut, corn, cottonseed, olive, spraying with proper . The beetle, Entomo­ , mustard, palm, and coconut. The oil is obtained scelis americana feeds only on of the mustard seed by crushing the seeds under great pressure to separate it family (Crassicae), and can ruin a rapeseed crop unless from the pulp or meal. Rapeseed produced in western Canada controlled. Red-backed cutworm, Euxoa ochrogaster, is a contains an average of 43 percent oil. This oil averages about serious pest. Stems are cut off below the surface. Here too, 0.5 percent free fatty acids and a high percentage of iodine. infestation can be controlled by use of insecticides. Oil must be refined to remove impurities. High grade oils Several fungal diseases are problematic. Among these are are used for cooking, salad dressings, manufacture of white rust, candida, downy mildew, Peronspora and other . Crude oils are utilized in parasitica, black spot, brassica and A. raphani, the production of , rubber products, soaps, ringspot, Mycospharella brassiciola and stem rot, emulsifying agents and resins. sclerotiorum. All of these can be controlled by crop Processing of rapeseed to remove oil must be done under rotation, preferably long term rotation with crops carefully controlled conditions of heat and moisture. Unless such as wheat, oats and barley. Seeds can also be treated with so done, protein content of the meal is reduced and its before sowing. This has, in general, been successful. nutritive value is diminished. The best method of control is the use of disease-resistant *SISTER M. DOLORES AHLES, Ph. 0., is associated strains, some of which have been developed in the last I 0 with St. Gabriel's Hospital, an institution known for its years, especially varieties of Brassica napus. teaching as well as its service programs, at Little Falls, No ;, rea of foe has developed rapeseed on Minnesota.

Juumal uf. Volume Forty-two, 1976 15 a large scale. About 2,500,000 lbs of the seed is imported summer turnip rape, Brassica compestris, -z Pflanz annually for the manufacture of rubber products, lubricants, Enzuecht, 69(1): 18, n.d. and brake fluid. MARCH, B.E. and JACOB BIELY, An evaluation of the Some Minnesota farmers sow rapeseed mixed with oats supplementary protein and matabolizable energy value to provide early spring pastureland. Small acreage of oil­ of rapeseed meals for chicks, Journal of Animal Science seed rape is grown in Minnesota primarily for bird seed 51: 749-756, 1971 and bee pasture. Brassica napus is about 70 percent self­ NUTTALL, W.F., Influence of soil moisture tension and pollinated and 30 percent cross-pollinated. Therefore, insects amendments on yield, oil, and protein content of such as the honeybee help increase crop yield. Rape honey target rape grown on gry wooded soils in greenhouse. is less flavorable then clover honey. It granulates readily Canadian Journal of Soil Science 53: 87-93, 1973 and is not recommended for over-wintering bees. Processors PETRIE, G.A., Diseases of rapeseed and mustard, Cana­ blend rape and clover honey to improve flavor and firmness. dian Department of Agriculture, Research Station, Saska­ There are many possibilities for the rapeseed crop. Some toon, Canada, n.d. farmers have begun to utilize rapeseed meal, as well as the PUTNAM, L.G., Insect pests of rape and mustard seed, Cana­ , for field fertilizers. Researchers indicate that dian Deaprtment of Agriculutre, ResearchStation,Saska­ several species of Brassica may be utilized for industrial toon, Canada, n.d. production of erucic acid. Whatever the future holds, the Rapeseed Association of Canada, Canadian rapeseed meal, rapeseed crop is destined to hold its own in agricultural No. 16, 1972 production in many areas of the world. Rapeseed Association of Canada, Insect pests and diseases of rape and mustard, Winnepeg, Canada, 1972 ROBINSON, R.G., Mustard and rape oilseed crops for REFERENCES Minnesota, University ofMinnesota Agricultural Extension service, United States Department Agricultural Bulletin Canada Department of Agriculture, What you should know No.311, 1964 about oilseed crops, Ottowa, Canada No. 1448, I 971 Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, Extension Division, Rapeseed Canada and Saskatchewan Departments of Agriculture, News Bulletin No. 2, n.d. Guide to farm practice in Saskatchewan 1972, University TAO, R., R.J. BELZIDE and G.J. BRISSON, Amino acid of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, 1972 digestibility of and lysine supplement. Canadian Agricultural Extension Service, University of Minnesota, Journal of Animal Science 5: 705-709, 1971 Mustard and rape oilseed crops of Minnesota, Extension United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Bulletin No. 311, 1964 Informational Research Sheet, Beltsville, Maryland, BELL, J.M., R.K. DOWNEY and L.R. WETTER, Oil April 1974 and meal from Canadian rapeseed, Canada Department of WEINBERG, BERND, Processing of low erucic acid rape­ Agriculture No. I 183, 1967 seed and canbra oil, Canadian Institute of Foos Science JONSSON, R., Breeding for low erucic acid content in Technology Journal, 5, No. 3, 1972

16 The Minnesota Academy of Science