222 CROP PRODUCTION 



Oats; in the other group the spikelets are on one side: 

 these are the Mane or Banner or Side-panicle Oats. The 

 first group contains the most popular varieties. 



Culture 



Oats are cool-season plants. They thrive best in cool 

 weather and a moist soil. Consequently they are most 

 successful in northern regions, where they form one of 

 the most important elements in farm rotations. They 

 should be planted early in well-prepared soil, the seed 

 being covered an inch deep. The plants come up 

 quickly and grow rapidly, maturing early in summer. 

 A fair yield in the northern states is fifty bushels an 

 acre, although the average is much below this. 



A distinct advance in the growing of oats in the south- 

 ern states has been brought about by the introduction 

 of the ''open furrow" method of seeding. The seed is 

 sown in the fall on land which has been plowed and 

 harrowed, being drilled in the bottom of furrows four 

 inches deep made by a special machine. The young 

 plants get well started before winter and the furrow is 

 gradually filled in by the alternate freezing and thawing 

 of the soil. The percentage of winter kiUing is thus 

 greatly reduced and the roots are so far down that they 

 are better able to withstand the droughts of spring or 

 early summer. 



Enemies 



The Loose Smut is the most destructive fungous 

 disease of oats. Its life-history is similar to that of the 

 Loose Smut of Wheat, the spores being attached to the 

 seed and entering the seedling soon after germination. 



