158 



FIELD CROP PRODUCTION 



spending increase of grain, and with the rank growth, 

 lodging frequently results. Fertilizers may best be applied 

 to the corn or wheat lands, except with very poor soils, 

 where it may be desirable to fertilize the oats also. 



146. Time of seeding. — Oats are a cool weather crop 

 and best results may usually be obtained from early 

 rather than later seeding. Early seeding may be regarded 

 as that done as soon as the soil is dry enough in the spring 

 to get on to it with team and implements. In a time 

 of seeding test at the Ohio Station, for a three-year aver- 

 age, the earliest seed- 

 ings outyielded the 

 latest seedings by 18.37 

 bushels per acre. The 

 weight per bushel was 

 also influenced to a 

 considerable extent by 

 the time of seeding, 

 the earlier seedings 

 having heavier weight 



per bushel. This result was largely due to the fact that the 

 earlier seeded plants completed their growth before hot 

 weather, while those seeded later did not fill out as well 

 on account of the hot weather. In the South, where 

 winter oats are grown, fall seeding is practiced. The 

 time of seeding varies with the latitude, in the northern 

 part of this section the seeding being done in late Sep- 

 tember, while farther south it is delayed until late October. 



147. Rate of seeding. — Before seeding, the oats should 

 be run through a fanning mill equipped with proper 

 screens to remove small and light kernels, sticks, trash, 

 and weed seeds. This not only insures a more uniform 

 rate of seeding, but also prevents the use of inferior seeds. 



Fig. 54. — Seeding oats with a drill. 



