8. Leave sufficient distance between varieties 
or different grains to allow harvesting without 
mixing. 
9. Carefully clean out thresher or combine 
before harvesting—most mixing occurs through 
neglect of this. 
In certain sections where Red Rust Proof types 
predominate are often found volunteer plants 
that are very vigorous, tall, cold resistant, and 
have long open heads. These are segregates of 
chance crosses and the seed color ranges from 
white through browns and blacks. (Typical heads 
are seen in photograph on opposite page). These 
plants volunteer year after year and are noticed 
growing along many roadways and ditchbanks in 
the Delta and furnish a constant source of 
mixing. 
Darnell or “Cheat” shown in photograph below 
is a noxious weed that when once established 
persists year after year and must be constantly 
guarded against. 

Darnell or ‘‘Cheat’—a noxious weed that must 
be constantly guarded against. 
NEW VARIETIES MAKE 
OAT GROWING SAFER 
The introduction of the combine has 
changed the oat variety picture. When oats 
were cut with a cradle or binder it was not 
necessary to wait until they were 
thoroughly ripe. Little lodging had taken 
place at this time. A stiff straw was not of 
such importance. Appler, Red Rust Proof, 
Fulghum and old Fulgrain varieties could 
all be handled nicely. But when harvesting 
with a combine became a general practice, 
the oats had to be left until they were dead 
ripe; if weather conditions were not ideal 
these varieties invariably lodged badly. 
All of these earlier varieties were sus- 
ceptible to rust, including Appler and Red 
Rust Proof; these latter varieties were 
merely late rusters. Rust not only cut the 
yield but further weakened the straw and 
increased lodging. The South American 
oat, Victoria, is not only rust resistant, and 
smut resistant, but has a very stiff straw. 
So in our crosses with this oat, on Fulgrain 
we endeavored to combine not only the 
winter hardiness, yield and early maturity 
of the Fulgrain with the rust resistance 
and extreme smut resistance of the Vic- 
toria but to maintain also the excellent 
straw of the Victoria. 
Those of you who planted Victorgrain 
and Fulgrain 4 the past year have noted 
the remarkably good straw that these oats 
have. Furthermore, the taller the oat the 
greater the wind pressure and correspond- 
ingly greater lodging. In these two varie- 
ties the straws are stiffer and shorter; 
the heads are long and well balanced, 
which give them excellent lodging resist- 
ance—a most important character any 
year but essential during adverse seasons. 
In any oat growing program, it is well to 
have oats ripen over a period of time and 
not all at once, so as to safely extend the 
harvesting period. Stanton ripens a week 
to ten days later than Victorgrain and 
Fulgrain 4 and supplements ideally these 
varieties. Higher production, rust, smut 
and cold resistance of these new varieties 
should make the oat growing program of 
the South both safe and remunerative, 
