26 LABORATORY MANUAL IN FIELD CROPS 



PRACTICUM NO. 20 

 Object. A Study of the Oat Plant. 

 Materials. Dried specimens of oat panicles. 



Method. Examine dry panicles which are at hand and 

 answer the following in tabular form in your notebooks. 



1. Length of panicle, average of five panicles. 



2. Number of whorls, average of five panicles. 



3. Number of main branches, average of five panicles. 



4. Number of spikelets, average of five panicles. 



5. Variation in the length of the pedicle . . to 



inches. 



6. Number of grains, average of five panicles. (Reserve 

 until the last.) 



7. Number of grains per spikelet. 



8. Weight of grains, average of five panicles of 100 grains each. 



9. Relative size of lower and upper grains. 



Weight of 25 upper grains, 



Weight of 25 lower grains, 



10. Percentage of kernel, ; weight of 100 grains, 



; weight of 100 kernels, ; percentage 



of kernel to grain, ." 



11. Plumpness of kernel: plump, medium, inflated. 



12. Flowering glume : thick, medium, thin. 



13. Length of 25 grains from base to tip of flowering glume ; 

 from the base to the tip of the kernel, 



14. Density, determined by the grain tester, or by weighing 

 an exact number of cubic inches, and reducing to weight per 

 bushel. 



15. Color of the grain : light yellow, gray, reddish brown, 

 black. 



