When oats were grown mainly for horse feed, producers didn’t take the crop seriously. It was often the last crop sown and least cared for.
But with oats now a valuable human food, producers are becoming interested in better growing methods.
At the first Prairie Oat Growers Association convention held in Saskatoon Dec. 3-4, Chris Marth of Quaker Oats Co., one of the biggest oat buyers in the world, offered basic crop production tips for novice growers.
“We don’t look at buying oats as a commodity. We look at oats as an ingredient. We look at it as buying oatmeal,” he said, explaining why quality ranks high.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers commit to enhancing competitiveness
Canadian ag ministers said they want to ensure farmers, ranchers and processors are competitive through ongoing regulatory reform and business risk management programs that work.
Marth said fertility, weed control and harvest are all areas that can pose perils for the unaware producer.
Fertility
For a 100 bushel per acre crop, the soil needs to contain 100 pounds of nitrogen, 40 lb. of phosphorus, 150 lb. of potassium, and 15 lb. of sulfur.
That means some fields short on these minerals need to be fertilized.
Nitrogen is essential for photosynthesis and stalk spreading. Phosphorus promotes stem growth and root development, speeds maturity and fends off disease.
Potassium helps plants transfer water, which will protect drought-sensitive oats on hot days.
Marth said he has seldom seen crops hurt by micronutrient deficiencies.
“Unless you see the deficiencies out in the field, you don’t have nothing to worry about.”
Seed management
Oats should be seeded into fields with little threat of wild oats, volunteer wheat, volunteer barley and chemical residues.
Seeding should occur in early to mid-May. Marth said a University of Manitoba study showed that crops seeded three to five days sooner got a seven to eight bushel per acre advantage at harvest. Oats however, are susceptible to frost.
Seed should be placed one to two inches deep (2.5 to five centimetres.) Zero-till farmers should make sure trash is evenly spread.
Weed control
“Chemical control of weeds has probably done more damage to oats quality- and yield-wise than any other agronomic practice,” said Marth. “The best weed control option for oats is oats.”
Getting a crop in early allows it to outcompete most plants, including wild oats.
Chemical control is dangerous because oats are easily stressed and yield potentials are badly damaged. He said one crop sprayed with dicamba on a hot day saw test weights drop by four lb. per bushel and yield drop by 15 to 20 bu. per acre compared to an unsprayed section of the crop.
But if producers must spray, spraying early is important. That gets the weeds young and avoids most damage to the oats panicle, which sets the seed.
Producers should find chemicals that damage oats the least.
Harvest
Marth warned producers not to panic over shelled-out seeds. He said many farmers notice the top seeds on their oats plants have begun shedding and think they should immediately harvest the field.
But he said oats mature from the top of the plant down. Most seeds are lower on the stalk. If a farmer combines early, most seeds are still immature, damaging bushel weight and yield. The cost of harvesting three days too early can equal a four- to five-lb. test weight loss and eight to 10 bu. per acre.
