May 27 2010, a mechanized harvest of rapeseed was demonstrated in the suburb of Shanghai. Specially designed rape reapers perfectly turn the rape pod into rapeseed while rolling over the field, leaving smashed straws behind. 0.3-0.5 hectare of rapes can be harvested within an hour, with only 4.11% of rapeseed loss. The reaping machines were jointly developed by Nanjing Research Institute for Agriculture Mechanization, MOA, Institute of Oil Crops, CAAS, Huazhong Agricultural University, and Hunan Agricultural University.

The rape variety harvested in the field is “Zhongshuang 11”, which was cultivated by Dr. Wang Hanzhong’s research team at the Institute of Oil Crops, CAAS. “Zhongshuang 11” has very good traits of lodging and sclerotinia rot resistance. With its strong anti-dehiscence pods and dwarf stem, the plant is the best existing rape variety for mechanized harvest. 

The self-supply rate of edible oil in China is only 40% while rapeseed oil accounts for 57% of the self-supplied edible oil. Mechanized harvest of rapeseed helps reduce the labor cost and enhance the harvest efficiency. This is good news both for the rapeseed producers and edible oil consumers.