Page 20—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 7, 1998
(Continued from Page 19)
in the 5-leaf stage, (2) in the early
boot, and (3) in blossom. Consequent
ly, a lack of rain during any of these
times that the oats are in the stages
mentioned above will lower grain
yields. Frequent light rains would re
sult in higher yields in oats. However,
the effects of the shading by the
clouds on the oat plant tyill result in a
decrease in photosynthesis.
The effect of decreased photosyn
thesis decreases the rate of growth and
thus increases water requirements in
the oat plant. Diseases increase the
water needed to produce a unit of dry
matter in oats.
There arc some growth characteris
tics which oats displays that can be
used to determine if drought was pre
valent any time during the growing
season. Drought during heading re
duces the number of panicles; after
heading it reduces the number of
grains per panicle, but the grains are
larger. Plants arc generally more slen
der and more stunted, possess a more
waxy coat than those grown in wet
soil, head earlier, and produce a higher
grain:straw ratio. Drought followed by
Performance of spring oat vancucs in 1997
Gram Bushel Plant
yield weight height
Variety
(bu/A>
129 5
Armor
127 2
Hercules
1238
Ogle
GR 65
1182
117 1
Prairie
117 1
103 6
Chairman
Belle
Gem
102 5
1174
Averages
Two-year performance of spring oal varieties
Grain Bushel Plant
yield weight height
Variety
(bu/A)
130.7
GR 65
126.6
Armor
124 0
Hercules
123 9
Ogle
Table 2. Performance of spring oat varieties and selections in Centre County
Pennsylvania, in 1997.
Variety or
selection
Bla/er
Whitestone
Rodeo
Jerry
Chaps
Hercules Fluor
Ogle
Burton
Premier
Armor
Hamilton
Hazel
Dane
Newdak
Hercules
Pcnnuda
Average
LSD (0.05)
C.V. (%)
A Hulless oat variety. Estimated yield on a hulled basis is 129 bu/A
Lodging
(Ib/bu)
35
20
20
60
33 5
35 5
15 2
(Ib/bu) (in)
36 45
36 44
37 45
34 42
1997 PA Spring Oat Performance Tests
Gram
yield
(bu/A) (Ib/bu)
160 34.8
160 31.5
152 33.4
152 34.7
151 33.9
150 34.4
150 32 1
147 32 9
146 37 4
145 33 3
144 32 8
142 33 7
139 31 3
135 32.7
144 33.6
90a 42.8
144 34.2 32
Hints On Growing Spring Oats
ample moisture results in renewed
growth and a delay in heading.
The type of soil texture does not af
fect water requirements in oats, but
the ability of the oat root system to ab
sorb water is an important factor in
wilting of the plant. The fertility of the
soil seems to have a higher priority to
the oat plant than the soil type. Oats
grown in either a clay or sandy soil
needed less water to produce an
abundant yield wt of the embryo, they
consist of the primary roots (radicle)
and, and sulfur were added to these
soils.
Broad-leaved varieties that grow
luxuriantly have been show to have a
lower water requirement than varieties
with fewer leaves. Early maturing
varieties use more water early in the
season but the total amount used is
about the same as the later maturing
varieties.
Temperature
All of the studies in oats production
point to the fact that oats require a cool
climate for best production. Since oats
thrive at cool temperatures, spring
oats must be seeded early for best re
sults. In general, this means that oats
are best when sown in cold soil.
Oats require a comparatively cool
temperature during the period of
germination and of greatest growth;
the shooting, booting, and heading
stages. Otherwise production is likely
to be reduced regardless how favor
able all other factors for growth may
be.
So, in obtaining the best yield in
oats, it is important to plant early. This
will allow the plants to reach, and, if
possible, pass through the stages men-
Table 1 Twiv-ycar perform mec summary of spring oat
varieties in Centre County Pennsylvania tn 1996 97
Cram
yield
Variety or
selection
(bu/A)
157
152
144
144
143
137
Bla/cr
Rodeo
Chaps
WhiicMonc
Armor
Jerry
Ha/cl
Newd ik
Premier
Hercules
Hamilton
Dane
Pennuda
a Hullcss oat v mu> Estmi ucd yield on a hulled basts is 129 bu/A
Plant
height
Bushel
weight
Bushel Plant
weight height
Heading
dale
June 20
June 24
June 20
June 18
June 19
June 21
June 19
June 21
June 17
June 21
June 15
June 16
June 15
June 20
June 23
June 16
tioned above prior to the arrival of
wanner weather.
The minimum temperature for
growth in oats is between 38* and 40*
F. All varieties, whether planted early
or late, need approximately the same
number of heat units to emerge from
the soil, provided adequate moisture is
available. The number of heat units
from planting to heading also arc ap
proximately the same, regardless of
planting dates; but, early maturing
varieties require fewer heat units than
do later-maturing varieties. Thus,
temperature seems to be the primary
factor affecting maturity.
Light
The duration of light during the
daylight hours influences the size of
the oat plant compared to the amount
of seed head produced. There has not
been any observed relationship be
tween the number of cloudy days and
the yield of oats. An increase in day
length will shorten plant height and
hasten flowering. In seasons of heavy
rainfall and cloudy weather, oats grow
tall. In seasons of low precipitation
and abundant sunlight, oats are short
However, the light requirement for
oats is higher than for wheat or barley.
The effects of light on flowering of
oats only happen between the tillering
and the shooting stages. It has been
found that the length of the dark per
iod determines head initiation. It takes
a dark period of less than nine hours
for properly heading out of oats. Get
ting the oat plant to a stage of maturity
to head out as close to June 21 is in the
best interest of the producer.
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ACCORD PARAMOUNT
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rhomarn P.O. Box 218, State St.
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Summary
From information included here, it
is evident that there are some
complexities in managing a produc
tive crop of oats. Here are some man
agement principles that we can glean
from this information.
• Plnat early. All small grains will
germinate and make some growth at
temperatures close to freezing. Low
temperatures do not necessarily injure
oat seed. The recommended dates for
planting in much of western Pennsyl
vania are April 1-15. The dates in the
more up-land areas are April 10-25.
There are many growers planting oats
before these dates every year and get
ting excellent yields
• Plant uniformly. Plant the seeds at
a depth of 1 to I.S inches. The width
of the row was found to be somewhat
of a factor, in Illinois, spring oats ob
tained the highest yields in 8-inch
rows, in most years, over 4-inch rows.
This could explain why many of the
grain drills made for the mid-west
have 8-inch drill widths.
• Plant conventionally or no-till.
The county demonstration plot was
planted using a no-tilled planter with
good results. Other growers have been
using no-till plantings of oats and also
getting good yields. Growers who go
with field preparation of plowing,
disking and then planting have been
getting good yields too. Getting the
seed sown in a timely manner is more
important than what grain drill made
the planting.
• Plant enough. The desired plant
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