Agriculture Rape field blossom has begun in Bonn and the region
Niederholtorf · The rape field blossom has started in Bonn and the region. For up to four weeks, many fields will glow in sunny yellow - like here on the outskirts of Niederholtorf.
The fields are currently glowing sunny yellow. On the fields in the region - the photo shows a field on the outskirts of Niederholtorf - the rape field blossom started a few days ago. According to the Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia, the blossoms on the main shoots can usually be seen in the rape fields these days. Depending on the weather, flowering lasts between two and four weeks.
Some of the rape fieldseed flowers are pollinated by bees, for whom the rape fieldseed provides plenty of nectar. By July, pods with small, two-millimetre-thick grains, which have a very high oil content, grow from the flowers. According to the Chamber of Agriculture, the area under winter rape field in NRW was 51,400 hectares last year.
Leaves protect soil
Most rape fieldseed goes to the food industry and serves, for example, as a basic ingredient for margarine. Part of the harvest is processed into biodegradable lubricants, saw-chain and hydraulic oils, but also into biodiesel. What becomes of the rape field is decided after the harvest in the trade.
Rape fieldseed is also good for the soil. It is sown as early as August and develops enough leaves before winter to cover the soil and thus protect the field from siltation and wind erosion. With its deep tap roots, the plant reaches into the lower soil layers and brings nutrients that have been washed down by the rain back into the root zone of the plants.
(Original text: Holger Willcke / Translation: Mareike Graepel)
