Karaka Leafy Turnip

We recommend our new Karaka Leafy Turnip. It is an annual hybrid brassica that gives quick, high quality, very palatable feed and delivers high yields over multiple grazings when grown on fertile soils and managed well. It suits loam to heavy soils in areas with 500mm+ rainfall or irrigation.

Sow our Karaka Leafy Turnip at 4–5 kg/ha as a single species. The seed is small, so sow it shallow into a fine, firm seedbed with good moisture, then roll for good seed-to-soil contact. Reduce the rate if you are adding it to a mix.

Karaka Leafy Turnip suits areas with 500mm+ rainfall, or irrigation, and performs best on fertile loam to heavy soils. Yield depends on good fertility, so soil test first and apply fertiliser to suit. It is well suited to higher-rainfall South West and Great Southern paddocks.

Karaka Leafy Turnip is a fast-growing option for this. It establishes quickly and gives highly palatable, high quality feed, then regrows for further grazings with good management. Sow into moist, fertile soil at 4–5 kg/ha, and graze once plants are well anchored.

Yes. Brassicas, including leafy turnips, can cause health problems such as nitrate poisoning and other disorders if stock are switched onto them suddenly. Introduce animals gradually, give them hay or pasture as well, and avoid putting hungry stock onto the crop. Talk to your vet or us about a safe transition for Karaka.

To get multiple grazings from Karaka Leafy Turnip, avoid grazing it too hard. Leave enough leaf and stem for the plant to regrow, then give it time to recover before returning stock. Strip grazing makes efficient use of the crop, and a follow-up fertiliser application supports regrowth.

We suggest pairing Karaka Leafy Turnip with a grass or cereal, such as an annual ryegrass like Tetila or our Shirohie Millet in summer, so stock get fibre alongside the brassica. The mix lowers the risk of digestive upsets and spreads feed supply. We can blend it into a Custom Mix.

Karaka Leafy Turnip is best suited to fertile loam to heavy soils, so it's not our first pick for poor sands. On light country, consider our Tillage Forage Radish, which our catalogue lists for sandy soils. Tell us about your paddock and we'll suggest the right brassica.

Karaka Leafy Turnip is mainly a grazing crop, valued for multiple grazings of highly palatable feed. Brassicas have a high moisture content, which makes them harder to conserve than cereals or grasses. For silage or hay, we'd generally recommend Joey Triticale, Saia Oats or our Silahay Mix instead.

Both are forage brassicas for fast, palatable feed. Karaka is a leafy hybrid turnip suited to fertile loam to heavy soils with 500mm+ rainfall, and it gives high yields over multiple grazings. Winfred Forage Brassica is another multi-graze option in our range. Talk to us about your sowing window and stock class to choose.