Going round the bend in fields of gold

The rolling German countryside has steadily turned into large swathes of yellow.

This stunning aerial view of the winding country road near Nienstedt in central Germany was taken on Thursday.

Large fields of bright yellow rapeseed bloom along German roads at this time of the year.

Rapeseed has been cultivated for thousands of years.

Today, it is used to make biodiesel, margarine, animal feed and bioplastics. Oil from rapeseed is also commonly sold as a main ingredient in vegetable oil.

The European Union's rapeseed harvest will fall this summer after frost hit crops in Poland.

Insect damage is also causing concern in France and Britain, reported Reuters earlier this month.

However, Germany's rapeseed crop is expected to increase 0.6 per cent on the year to 5.03 million tonnes, German farm cooperatives have estimated.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 14, 2016, with the headline Going round the bend in fields of gold. Subscribe