Adhesive to dust salts on potato chips and nuts

							                                             Oats
                                     Booklet. No. 245
                         Cereals and millets Production: CMPS - 7
Contents
Preface
I.     Introduction
II.    Climate
III.   Soil
IV.    Varieties
V.     Seed and Sowing
VI.    Fertilizer Application
VII.   Irrigation
VIII. Weed Control
IX.    Disease Control
X.     Pest Control
XI.    Harvesting
XII.   Intercropping
XIII. Crop Rotation
XIV. Industrial Importance
XV.    Medicinal Value
XVI. User's Products
XVII. Economics of Cultivation

Preface

So far oat has been used as an important fodder, straw, hay or silage crop. Now it is also
getting popular as a food grain crop because of its richness in certain vitamins and minerals. It
is also a fairly rich source of protein. This booklet deals with the scientific cultivation of oats.

Dr. K. T. Chandy, Agricultural & Environmental Education

I. Introduction

       Oats have been cultivated from ancient times in many European countries of the West.
The red oat was grown as a fodder in Asia minor in the tropics. Major oat producing countries
are the USA, exUSSR, Canada, Poland, France, Germany, and the UK. The total world area
under oat cultivation is approximately 30 million hectares. As a winter crop oats grow in the
northern, western and central India. It is presently cultivated on a large scale in Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and to a limited extent, in certain parts of Himachal Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal.

        Oat crop is mostly used as livestock feed. Its place in bread making is nominal because
of high proportion of hull (20-30%) and absence of gluttin (a kind of protein). But now it is getting
popular as an important breakfast food as it is rich in fat, protein, vitamin B1, phosphorus and
iron.

II. Climate

       Oats can be grown as high as 1600 metres altitude i.e. areas of Columbia, Brazil,
Kenya, etc. It grows best in cool, moist regions i.e. above 300 N and below 300 S latitudes. The
most successful area lies between 400 -500 N in North America and 40~55° N in Europe and
Asia. It is grown in areas where the annual rainfall is 450 ~ 750 mm and is well distributed. It
requires a cool temperature during germination. During the crop period, the maximum
temperature should range between 200 - 270 C and minimum between 40 – 15o C. Cool season
occasioned by light rains and assured availability of irrigation water is ideal for growing oats.

III. Soil

        Oats are generally considered very selective to the soils. Fertile and well drained loam to
clayey soils are best for its cultivation. It is also less tolerant to soil pH, the optimum pH 5.5 to
8.0 is the best for oats. Soils with salt concentration of 15000 to 25000 ppm of sodium chloride,
sodium carbonate or sodium sulphate are good for plant growth, while higher concentration of
these affects germination of seed. On light soils, it grows well when soil is rich in humus and in
the presence of sufficient frequent irrigations.

IV. Varieties

        Oats are grown in both plains and hilly areas of the country, under irrigated as well as
non-irrigated conditions, as a pure crop or mixed with other crops. Therefore, the choice of
variety, its adoption and attributes are some of the foremost considerations in oat cultivation.
For example, a late variety is unlikely to give frequent cuttings. In fact, a variety amenable to
several cuttings and possessing high amount of nutrients will have a great impact on animal
production. Keeping in view these points, varieties like 37/14 and IGFRI-2688 have been
released to suit single-cut management while variety IGFRI-3021 is to suit multi-cut
management systems. For traditional cultivation for fodder production a few direct exotic
introductions have been found to be promising and are recommended (i.e. Kent and Algerian
varieties). Some more varieties selected from exotic varieties are NP-I, NP-2 and NP-3. It is
presently uneconomical to distribute the seeds of hybrid oat varieties since oat is a self-
pollinated crop, but in very near future hybrid seeds will be available for general cultivation,
since oats show low in-breeding depression and could profitably be exploited in using hybrid
vigour in oats. Some important varieties are described here.

1. Kent
        Kent is medium late and erect type with long droopy leaves, which was introduced from
the USA. Plant height at 50% flowering is 75 to 80 cm. It is resistant to rust, blight and lodging. It
yields about 500 q of green fodder per hectare.

2. Algerian
       This variety is suitable for irrigated areas. It is a slow growing variety which takes 145-
150 days to mature. It yields about 400 -500 q of green fodder per hectare.

3. FOS-1/29
        It is a slow growing variety with very fine, narrow leaves. Its plants are prostrate in early
stages and tiller profusely. It is suitable for growing in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar
Pradesh. It yields about 400-500 q of green fodder per hectare. It is harvested in 140 days. It is
resistant to drought and can be raised under rain fed conditions.

4. Brunker-10
        It is a mid-season variety and heads in about 120 days. It is suitable for moisture stress
conditions. It is resistant to loose smut. It is quick growing and has green, smooth and fine
leaves. It yields about 400 q green fodder per hectare.
5. Weston-11
        It is an early variety. It is tall growing with semi-erect habit of growth in early stages.
Leaves are smooth and broad. It has an average growth span of 166 days. It yields about 450
quintals of green fodder per hectare.

6. Coachman
       It is very late variety introduced from the USA. It is erect in growth habit. Plant height is
80-90 cm at 50 % flowering. It is resistant to rust, blight and lodging. It yields about 500 q green
fodder per hectare.

7. Coker-72-34
        It is a late variety and prostrate in growth habit. Plant height is 60 -70 cm at 50 %
flowering. It is resistant to rust, blight and lodging. It has yield potential of 400-500 q green
fodder per hectare.

8. HFO-114
      It is erect type. It is tall and multi cut variety of oat. It is most suited for growing in
Haryana. It yields about 500-550 q green fodder and 25 q grain per hectare.

9. UPO-50
       It is a medium late and semi-erect variety selected at Pantnagar with a plant height of
70-85 cm at 50% flowering. The variety is resistant to rust, blight and lodging. It yields about
450-500 q green fodder per hectare.

10. UPO-94
       It is a medium late and erect variety selected at Pantnagar with a plant height of 75-80
cm at 50% flowering. It is resistant to rust, blight and lodging. It yields about 400 to 450 q green
fodder per hectare.

V. Seed and Sowing

       The important aspects of oats sowing are described here.

1. Selection of seed and treatment
        Selection of bold and healthy seeds is not so important in selection of seeds for oat.
What is more important is uniform size of the seed, otherwise only half of the grain and straw
yields can be expected. This calls for the use of graded seed for cultivation to get a reliable
production in oats. The clean seeds should be treated with a fungicide in the form of dust, slurry
or liquid. Fungicides (organic mercury) is used for seed treatment @ 3 g/kg seed to kill the
seed-borne pathogens. The treatment is effective against fungi which are under the hull or even
deeper within the seed. The safety precautions should be followed during treatment.

2. Storage of seed
        Seed stored in bins must meet the basic requirements such as:
1. retain the quality of grain;
2. protect against rodent, birds, insects etc.;
3. exclude all forms of water;
4. provide for effective fumigation;
5. provide safety from fire and wind; and
6. provide adequate space for sampling.
        The moisture content of the oat seeds must not be more than 15 per cent. If the moisture
content is higher, the grains should be dried betore storage. The grains should be free from
foreign materials as per the certification standards.

3. Dormancy of seed
        Some varieties of oats show varying degree of delay in germination. This can be due to
(1) inheritance, (2) sowing done soon after harvest, (3) ripening stage, (4) condition of the seed
coat, (5) position of seed on the panicle, (6) incomplete conditions for germination, and (7)
storage at low temperature and dry condition.

      However, the cultivated varieties have the shortest or probably no dormant period.
Those varieties which show some delay in germination, their seeds are stored for 10 weeks or
soaked in potassium nitrate solution 2% for 4 hours or their seed coat is broken to induce
immediate germination.

4. Land preparation
       The land should be thoroughly prepared to secure a tine well-pulverized seed bed.

1. For medium loam soils, usually two ploughings and one harrowing is given.
2. For heavy clay, 4-5 ploughings are given before harrowing.
3. Under intensive farming system, the field should be ploughed up by soil turning plough,
followed by three ploughings and harrowing.
4. If the land is kept fallow in the kharif season, the primary ploughing should be given in the hot
weather, if possible, and subsequent ploughings during dry spells in the rainy season.

       The objective in preparing the lands for oats is to have the field well leveled so that long
narrow beds may be laid out right across the field and only a single irrigation channel along the
upper side of the field may serve the purpose.

5. Seed rate and sowing time
        Oats for fodder require generally more seed i.e. 100 kg/ha., while for grain 50-60 kg/ha
is enough. Time of sowing depends upon the requirements of green fodder and the system of
intensive cropping. If continuous supply of green fodder is envisaged, either staggered sowings
at fortnightly intervals from October to December should be taken up or varieties with different
dates of maturity should be sown. Late maturing varieties like FOS 1/29 and Algerian 17 can
also be sown to obtain late fodder. For mixed fodder, the sowing, date depends upon the crop
with which it is to be grown as a mixture. In North India, the sowing time is the middle of
November to obtain the maximum grain yield. Optimum sowing time for getting the normal yield
is from middle of October to middle of November i.e. when atmospheric temperature is 18-20°C.

6. Sowing method and spacing
       Oats for fodder are traditionally sown by broadcast method. For maintaining uniform
stand, seed should be sown by seed- drill or pora. Spacing of 20-25 cm between rows is often
recommended for forage oats, while more for grains.

VI. Fertilizer Application

       The manurial and fertilizer requirements and methods of application for oats are
described here.
1. Nutrient requirement
        For an efficient oat culture the nutrient requirements vary depending on the agro-climatic
factors and the use (i.e. as grain, fodder or dual purpose) of the crop.

1. For grain production in oats 50-80 kg N/ha is recommended for Uttar Pradesh, Delhi,
Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The specific need of oats for phosphorus are not yet clearly
understood. Therefore, a soil test is required to use phosphatic fertilizer, or in very light soils 40
kg phosphorus may be applied at the time of sowing and potassic fertilizer are applied only
based on soil test report.

2. For oats grown for fodder 110-120 kg N/ha is recommended in Delhi, Punjab and Terai region
of Uttar Pradesh.

2. Time of application of fertilizers
         Early applic3tion of nitrogen is conducive to the vegetative growth, while late application
is utilized mostly for grain development and quality improvement. Therefore, nitrogenous
fertilizers to be used for fodder oats should be applied at early stages i.e. before sowing and
after first and second cuttings and out of 120 kg N/ha, 80 kg N/ha may be applied at the time of
sowing along the rows of oats and remaining @ 20 kg N/ha each as split doses after every
cutting. For grain oats out of 80 kg N/ha, 40 kg N/ha may be applied at the time of sowing, while
remaining dose as top-dressing after first and second irrigations. This fertilizer can also be
applied as foliar spray.

VII. Irrigation

         Soil moisture and humidity are important factors which influence the growth,
development and yield of oats. It is grown on heavy clay soils, which have capacity to retain soil
moisture. It is grown in cool and moderately humid climates, so it requires a balanced
application of irrigation. The growers must be very careful in applying irrigations to this crop and
keep into consideration the agro-climatic conditions, rather than availability of irrigation water. In
fact, the timely and accurate application of irrigation water would save the leaching losses and
will be conducive to growth. A limited irrigation at tillering stage stunts the crop and reduces the
fodder yield, while water applied before the plants emergence decreases the yield, and irrigation
after blossom stage hastens maturity. Under such available information it is only precise
irrigation, if given at IS-leaf stage, early boot stage and blossom stage, will give most
satisfactory results. For fodder grown under loamy and red gravelly loamy sand at Jhansi,
irrigation at 750% available soil moisture (ASM), while under Jobner conditions in Rajasthan an
irrigation at 30% available soil moisture (ASM) is recommended.

VIII. Weed Control
         Oats sown for fodder usually requires little weeding and interculture as it is fairly dense
growing crop. Under rainfed conditions, it is advisable to hoe the crop to reduce water and
nutrient uptake by weeds. Normally, one weeding with bakha after three to four weeks of sowing
is enough for line-sown crop. Several herbicides have also been recommended for weed control
in oats. Weedi-cides are applied mostly when oats have fully tillered and much before the boot-
stage to control annual broad-leaf weed like Stellaria media. Some of the hebicides used are
Benazoline (0.2 kg a.i./ ha), Bron1oxynil (0.3 kg ai/ha), 2,4-DB (1.2 kg a.i./ha) Loxynil (0.3 kg
a.i./ha) and Diuron (1.2 kg a.i./ha).

IX. Disease Control
        The oat plants are very susceptible to several diseases caused by virus, bacteria and
fungi. These harmful organisms consist of numerous races, the spectra of which change from
country to country and from year to year. Various diseases are found in the mild humid
environment, where oats are grown. Some important diseases are given below.

1. Stem rust (puccinia graminis)
2. Crown rust (puccinia coronata)
3. Covered smut (Ustilago kolleri)
4. Loose smut (Ustilago avenae)
5. Leaf blotch (Helminthosporium avenae)
6. Powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis)
7. Oat mosaic virus (Marmor terrestre)
8. Apical mosaic (M. terrestre var. typicum)

I. Grow resistant varieties.
a. Varieties Garry, Richland, White Russian and Canadian and Hajira are resistant to all known
races of stem rust. Exotic oat varieties like Iowa -670, Gopher, Kandula, Markton, Curt and Saia
are also resistant to stem rust, whereas popular varieties NP-1, NP-2, Kent and Punjab Local
are susceptible.
b. Varieties Santa Fe, Land Hafer and Victoria are resis-tant to crown rust. Exotic varieties VIII
578, Overland, Bondvick, Bond and Trispernia are found resistant to crown rust. The popular
oat varieties NP-1, NP-2, Kent and Punjab Local are highly susceptible to crown rust.
c. Varieties Sauk, Clinton-60, Burnett and Bondvick are resistant to smuts.
d. Varieties Clinton and Gopher show resistance to leaf blotch. t

2. Eradicate alternate hosts.
       Rusts can be eliminated by eradication of some wild Avena sp. and related grasses and
other host like buckthorn and barberry. These collatoral hosts become the media of survival of
pathogens during no crop season. This helps their annual recurrence.

3. Use of systemic fungicides.
        The protection to the commercially desirable varieties, which are susceptible to diseases
like smut or seedling blight, can economically be provided by using systemic fungicides like
Arasan, Spergon, Dow 9-B and Dithane @ 2 g/kg seed, to eradicate the pathogen. For
example, in case of disease seedling blight (Pyrenophora avenae), it could not spread and the
susceptible variety are able to survive when treated with organo-mercurials as seed-dressing.
Similarly, treated seed reduces the disease intensity for leaf blotch.

4. X-ray treatment of the infected seed with smut disease (Ustilago spp) has been found to give
some degree of control to this disease.

5. Dusting or spraying the crop before any rust appears on leaves, has a control over the
spread of disease.

6. Planting a mixture of seeds of varieties carrying different genes for stem rust resistance will
minimize losses due to stem rust.

7. Control over insect vectors which spread the disease (i.e. aphids) is the best way of
controlling virus diseases of oats.

X. Pest Control
       Insect pests do not cause much damage to oats in India. A sporadic and mild attack of
stem borers (Sesamia inferens) on oats is observed. Termites (Odontotermes obesus) are a
serious problem in the unirrigated and sandy loam soils, while surface grass hoppers
(Chrotogonus trachypterus) sometimes damage the crop. The aphids (Rhopalosiphum maidis)
causes only slight damage to it. Very rarely, the insect-pest attack becomes serious on oats.

The following control measures are suggested.

I. Dead plants should be pulled out along with insect pest (like stem borer) and burnt or
destroyed.

2. Dusting before the infestation starts with:
a. DDT 5% dust @ 20 kg/ha.
b. B.H.C. 5% dust @ 20 kg/ha.

3. Spraying before the infestation starts using 600-800 litres of water/ha with:
a. 0.25% DDT WP
b. 0.03O/c !:::ndrin WP
c. 0.2% BHC WP d. 0.05% Nicotine
e. 0.2% Malathion, Carbaryl or Phosphamidon, etc.

4. Soil application of insecticides such as 5% BHC, Chlordane, Aldrin or Heptachlor dust @ 24
kgiha has been recommended to control termite attack. The insecticide should be applied while
preparing the land and worked into the soil with a cultivator or a plough. If the attack is observed
after ploughing, the field should be immediately irrigated and dusted with the insecticide for
working into the soil with a cultivator or any other means. The mounds (colony of termites) if
already present, should be first removed along with their queens. Ten litres of 0.1 O/C, Aldrin or
Dialdrin per cubic metre volume of the mound should be poured.

5. Fumigation with aluminium phosphide @ 1-3 tablets per living burrow controls the rats
(rodents) effectively. This is done by closing all the burrows of rats in the field in the evening
with soil, and on the next day morning applying the aforesaid tablets of aluminium phosphide
only to those burrows which are found newly opened by the living rodents and again closing the
burrows tightly.

6. Rat baits prepared with Ratafin or zinc phosphide can also fl be spread over the field to kill
the rats as they eat them. These 1.1 baits are prepared by 50 g Ratafin or 30 g zinc phosphide,
1 kg i wheat or com flour, 50 g molasses, 50 g mustard oil and required quantity of water to
make a hard paste and then small baits.

XI. Harvesting

       Harvesting oats crop, is itself a subject of choice and use for which it is grown. Thus,
depending upon the purpose' of the crop grown, harvesting can be completed as described
below.

1. Harvesting for grains
       If the crop is grown for grain production only, then one has to judge its right stage of
ripening i.e. about 140 days after sowing when straw is still somewhat green, otherwise the
grain shedding would occur. Oats should not be threshed until the moisture is reduced to 13 to
15 per cent. Good grain yield ranges from 25-30 quintals/ha. in North India, depending on the
variety used. The bhusa left after threshing is also useful as a drv fodder.

2. Harvesting for dual purpose
        For green fodder and grains, some growers prefer to cut oats before the boot stage and
leave the crop for re-growth to produce grains. The purpose is to secure green fodder for
livestock. The right stage of cutting such dual-purpose oat crop is just before the beginning of
stem elongation. With early cutting, grain yield is reduced by 25% while late cutting reduces
grain yield by 50 per cent.

        Dual -purpose oat crop always produces less yield of grain, straw and dry matter than
single grain purpose crop, but dual-purpose crop yields more total protein/ha.

3. Harvesting for green fodder
        Some growers like to cut green fodder daily, weekly, bi- weekly, monthly, clipping at
specific height, clipping at specific stage of growth or clipping for high nutrient or animal growth
index.

4. Harvesting for special height
        Some growers like to cut at specific height of the plant. The height of 15-20 cm of green
plant yields more plant cut.

5. Harvesting at pre-boot stage
       Some growers wish to harvest green fodder in such a way as to get maximum of
chemical composition digestibility, palatability and animal growth, then forage oats should be
harvested at pre-boot stage i.e. at the height of 30 -40 cm.

6. Harvesting at milk-dough stage
         Some growers feed oats as mixed fodder with legume fodders in balanced ration, then
harvesting oats fodder at the milk-dough stage gives more digestible crude protein (DCP) and
total digestible nutrients (TDN) yield/ha than those harvesting at other stages.

7. Harvesting for silage production
       Oats should be harvested in the boot stage of maturity, as it has a high protein content
and a low crude fibre content. It is then readily digestible by the animals.

8. Harvesting for hay production
        The highest nutritive value in oat hay has been observed when it is harvested at jointing
stage i.e 18% flowering stage.

XII. Intercropping

         Common vetch, senji, lucerne, berseem, clover, mustard and field peas, etc are
commonly sown mixed with oats at several places, especially in dairy farms. Sometimes oats
are inter-planted in rows of hybrid Napier and Guinea grass in North India, especially during the
period when these perennial grasses remain dormant. Legumes provide a high protein feed and
contribute to soil fertility and nitrogen content, while oats make use of the nitrogen and fertile
conditions promoted by the legumes to produce plentiful supply of high quality feed. Thus,
mixed cropping of oats with leguminous crops provides more nutritious, protein-rich fodder. If it
is grown mixed with berseem, the optimum sowing time is second week of September or even
earlier in regions of mild climate, while it is sown in the first fortnight of October in other areas.
The main objective of broadcasting the oat seed along with that of berseem is to provide more
dry matter in the forage, because berseem is very watery during its first two cuttings.

        It is also successfully sown during the whole of November as a mixture with senji. Both
can do well under limited irrigation at the same time. The relative seed rates of oats sown mixed
with senji or berseem, depend upon the growers choice, as some use half sengi and half oats,
others prefer only 1/4 oats and 3/4 sengi or vice versa. While mixing with berseem 10 -15 k,g
oats/ha may be added to the normal seed rate of berseem. Several growers, however, mix
rapeseed with berseem and oats and in that case the seed rate of the oats is further reduced to
5 -8 kg/ha.

XIII. Crop Rotation

       Some of the crop rotations including oats are given here. 1. Jowar -oat 2. Maize -oat

3. Sudan grass –oat 4. Lobia -oat –mustard 5. Jowar -lobia -oat -lucerne.

XIV. Industrial Importance

        Oat grains of white-yellow colour, well-filled, uniform in size with about 20% husk
contents are always suitable for mill processing. The products obtained by processing are: (1)
fines called rolled oat, (2) groat chips, meal and flour, (3) hulls or husks, and (4) oat shorts. Oats
and their products are put to several uses like feed, food, medicines and paper making.

XV. Medicinal Value
      Oat gum, a part of the grain, is prescribed for use in bath water for certain skin ailments.

XVI. User's Products

1. Attractive cookies and small cakes.
2. Tasty muffins and bread.
3. Oat meal water.
4. Facial soaps of high quality.
5. Preservative for fatty food of peanut butter and margarine.
6. Adhesive to dust salts on potato chips and nuts.
7. Butter paper for packing bitter/oily materials or bacon etc.
8. Stabilizers for preserving ice-cream and milk products or animal products.

XVII. Economics of Cultivation

         Most of the oat growers do not maintain farm records or accounts properly, so it is very
difficult to make out whether the enterprise is at a loss or profit. This is due to the ignorance
about proper method of cost benefit calculations. Given below is a format for determining the
cost-benefit of oat cultivation. From this format a grower can choose whatever is applicable to
him.

A. Fixed cost
    1. Cost of the land Rs
    2. Cost of farm building and storage structure, etc. Rs
    3. Cost of fencing Rs
    4. Cost of clearing, leveling and bunding of the land Rs
   5. Cost of machines, implements, instruments and other accessories Rs

B. Recurring cost
   1. Cost of seeds and seed treatment Rs
   2. Cost of fertilizers and manures Rs
   3. Cost of insecticides, fungicides,
   4. Cost of farm power such as Rs
   5. Transport Rs
   6. Cost of farm labour (paid and unpaid)
          a. Cost of land preparation Rs
          b. Cost of irrigation Rs
          c. Weeding Rs
          d. Application of fertilizers and manures Rs
          e. Application of insecticides and weedicides Rs
          f. Other intercultural operations Rs
          g. Harvesting and threshing Rs
          h. Processing Rs
          i. Storing and marketing Rs
          j. Any other labour involvement Rs
   7. Interest on fixed cost Rs
   8. Rent or revenue paid for land Rs
   9. Depreciation
          a. Farm structure Rs
          b. Farm implements Rs
   10. Repairs and maintenance Rs
   11. Crop insurance Rs
   12. Total recurring cost Rs

C. Income
    1. Grain yield Rs
    2. Straw yield Rs
    3. Green fodder Rs
Gross income Rs
Net profit = Gross income -Total recurring cost

                       Purchase value-Junk value
Depreclatlon = ---------------------------------------
                                 Life span
       Note: Junk value is calculated only on those articles which can be resold after their life
span. Life span of building and machinery is 15 years and 10 years, respectively.

                                    %%%%%%%%%%%%