As the weather warms, it will become obvious which fields,or portions of fields, did not survive the standing water. Replanting ofsome areas may be a possibility. Also, some fields did not get plantedlast fall before rains prevented field work.
The success of a very late planting of oats depends largelyon the weather in spring. Small grains, including oats and wheat, growbest when the temperatures are around 60 degrees F. At higher temperatures,they will grow more slowly and tend to head out much too soon. A long,cool spring will favor continued growth of winter cereals. The rule ofthumb for grain wheat is that yield will decrease by 1% of the potentialfor every day planted past January 1.
The best bet for a quick crop is to choose a fast-maturing variety and plant it quite thickly, to compensate for a lack of tillering. Montezuma is the fastest maturing commonly available oat, followed by Swan and Kanota. Montezuma oat is rarely a high yielding oat on sandy soils,but can be quite tall and rank on heavy ground. Stem thickness is normally moderate, but late planting often reduces stem thickness. Dirkwin wheat, because it is longer maturing, and winter varieties such as winter triticales, are poor choices for late plantings.
A plant population study conducted in 1987 in Hilmar during the early years of the drought showed increasing yields with higher plant populations under adverse conditions (mid-December emergence, drought and nutritional stress during February and March). Larger seeded varieties such as Swan will require more seeds per acre to compensate for lack of tillering than smaller seeded varieties such as Kanota.
Variety | million seeds/acre |
seed lbs/acre | yield(silage) T/A @ 70% |
Swan Oat | |||
Kanota Oat | |||
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November 5, 1999