Under the name topsoil, we supply a catch crop range that delivers the best possible solution for every crop rotation and situation. The aim is to guarantee permanent soil fertility and an even humus balance for the location, and create an optimum phytosanitary effect. This involves avoiding negative interactions between the main crop and the catch crop, and using positive ones instead. In this respect, attention must be paid to some diseases and pests. These include clubroot in rapeseed crop rotations, Rhizoctonia solani or tobacco rattle virus in potato crop rotations and behaviour with respect to various nematode varieties in beet and potato crop rotations.
Mixes for maize and grain crop rotations
Components:
- Mustard (Albatros, Cover, Pirat)
- Oilseed radish (Apoll, Siletina)
- Gold of pleasure
Advantages and performance:
- The best weed suppression and late sowing compatibility thanks to rapid and leafy initial development
- Mix comprised of early-flowering oilseed radish varieties and late-flowering mustard varieties for the best possible rooting without radish creation
- The undemanding gold of pleasure additionally increases the compensatory capacity of the mix
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing time: by the beginning of September
- Seed density: 15 to 20 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder, broad sowing with spreader
- Crop rotation: maize, grain
Components:
- Mustard
- Gold of pleasure
Advantages and performance:
- Simple grassland mix for maize and grain crop rotation
- The flat rooting of the varieties included prevents them growing into drainage pipes
- Very good late sowing compatibility
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing time: by the beginning of September
- Seed density: 12 to 17 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder, broad sowing with spreader
- Crop rotation: maize, grain
Components:
- Winter rapeseed
- Winter beet
Advantages and performance:
- Maximum nutrient preservation thanks to 100% winter-hardy components
- Ideal for maize and grain crop rotations and cultivation in water protection areas
- Very good late sowing compatibility
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing time: by the beginning of September
- Seed density: 10 to 15 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder, broad sowing with spreader
- Crop rotation: maize, grain
Components:
- Mustard
- Oilseed radish
Advantages and performance:
- Good late sowing compatibility
- Ideal for maize crop rotations
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing time: by the beginning of September
- Seed density: 15 to 20 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder, broad sowing with spreader
- Crop rotation: grain, maize, rapeseed
Mix for rapeseed crop rotations
Components:
- Phacelia
- Linseed
- Niger
Advantages and performance:
- Ideal for rapeseed crop rotations
- Forms a dense and low growth that freezes reliably
- Sowing with spreader and flat working in easily possible
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing date: by the beginning of September (increase the sowing density for very late sowing dates)
- Seed density: 10 to 15 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder or spreader
- Crop rotation: rapeseed, maize, grain, sugar beet
Components:
- Rough oats
- Phacelia
Advantages and performance:
- Ideal for rapeseed crop rotations
- Good weed suppression and intensive rooting
- Combating of wandering root nematodes (Pratylenchus penetrans) that can
- cause serious damage in grain cultivation
Cultivation recommendations:
- Sowing date: by the beginning of September (increase the sowing density for very late sowing dates)
- Seed density: 25 to 40 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder
- Crop rotation: rapeseed, maize, grain, sugar beet
Use of cut crops
Components:
- Welsh rye grass (Barmultra II, Dolomite, Dorike)
- Crimson clover
Advantages and performance:
- TOP clover grass mix without compromise
- Only first cut rye grass varieties (A1 WZ recommendation)
- Large grass component
Cultivation recommendations:
- Sowing time: 5th to 15th September
- Seed density: 30 to 40 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill
- Crop rotation: grain, maize, rapeseed
Mix for potato crop rotations
Components:
- Rough oats (Pratex)
- Oilseed radish (Doublemax)
Advantages and performance:
- Ideal for potato and vegetable crop rotations
- The dual-resistant oilseed radish variety is neutral with respect to root knot nematodes (Meloideogyne sssp.)
- The rough oats reduce wandering and free-living nematodes
- Reduces virus-related blotchiness in potatoes
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing time: up to 25th August at the latest
- Seed density: 50 to 55 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder
- Crop rotation: potatoes, grain, vegetables, sugar beet, maize
Mixes for sugar beet crop rotations
Components:
- Oilseed radish (Cosmos R1)
- Mustard (Action R2, Profi R2)
Advantages and performance:
- Effective biological combating of beet cyst nematodes
- Varieties with the highest resistance category and quick initial development for the best possible combating success
- Vegetation time and crop density are decisive for optimum combating success
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing time: up to 25th August at the latest
- Seed density: 25 to 30 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder
- Crop rotation: sugar beet, maize, grain
Components:
- Mustard (R2)
- Phacelia
Advantages and performance:
- Uncomplicated greening mix for biological reduction of beet cyst nematodes
- Freezes reliably
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing time: beginning of September
- Seed density: 12 to 17 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder or spreader
- Crop rotation: sugar beet, maize, grain
Soil health/nitrogen fixation
Components:
- Bitter lupins
- Summer vetch
- Egyptian clover
- Phacelia
Advantages and performance:
- Via nitrogen fixing from the air, legumes increase the N soil pool and greatly stimulate the soil's biological activity
- A slow-flowing nitrogen source for follow-on crops
- Particularly suitable for cultivation with a low supply of organic fertilisers
- The strong root system of the lupins loosens the subsoil and mobilises deeper-lying nutrient potentials, particularly phosphorous
Cultivation recommendation:
- Sowing time: if possible soon after the main crop harvest, by 15th August at the latest
- Seed density: 70 to 80 kg/ha
- Sowing technique: seed drill, cultivator sowing with pneumatic seeder
- Crop rotation: grain, maize, rapeseed
Agricultural support
All topsoil mixes with the suffix "EU" contain only types that are identified for catch crop mixes for recognition as ecological focus areas within the framework of agricultural support. As usual, the stated compositions relate to quantity percentages, but are checked to confirm that the seeds of no one variety or grass make up more than 60% of the mix. More information about greening can be found here.
