How to manage the impact of gene flow on oilseed rape grain quality? Simulation case studies of three contrasted landscapes

Abstract Grain admixture due to gene flow of oilseed rape (OSR) could be economically damaging. Different strategies are currently used or proposed to manage grain quality, ranging from homogenisation at the silo level to tactical decision rules at the field level. The relevance of these general strategies was appraised in the case of genetically modified (GM) OSR in three contrasted regions in Europe: Beauce Blesoise (France), Schleswig-Flensburg (Germany), and Fife (UK). Field patterns, crop allocation and agricultural practices were derived from existing datasets and complementary field surveys. Then a gene flow simulator was used to assess how the local contexts influenced the grain adm…