Oat Hay Variety Trial
R.L. Dovel, J. Rainey, and G. Chilcotel
Introduction
Oat hay is an important commodity in the Klamath Basin. An increasing
acreage of oat hay is being produced in the basin. Oat hay variety trials were
conducted at KES in 1989 and 1990. Since that time, several new oat
varieties have been released for grain production and some oat varieties have
been released specifically for hay production. A variety trial examining the
hay yield potential and forage quality of standard and newly developed
varieties is needed to provide producers with a basis for variety selection. An
oat hay variety trial was established at KES in 1994 to examine the forage
yield and quality of 12 oat hay varieties.
Procedures
The trial was established at KES on Fordney fine sandy loam that is
moderately deep and somewhat poorly drained. The previous crop was
potatoes. The crop was irrigated by a solid set sprinkler system. The trial was
arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Seed
was planted on April 20 at a depth of 1 inch and a seeding rate of 100 lb/
acre. All plots were fertilized with 50 lb N, 62 lb P 2 0 5 , and 37 lb S / acre at
time of seeding. Plots measured 5 x 20 feet with a row spacing of 6 inches.
Bromoxynil and MCPA were applied at labeled rates to control broadleaf
weeds.
Plots were harvested when Magnum oat plants reached the soft dough
stage. Prior to harvest, plots were trimmed to 17 feet long. The crop was
harvested using a flail harvester with a three-foot wide head. All yields were
reported on a dry weight basis. Subsamples were collected and analyzed for
forage quality, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF),
crude protein (CP) and relative feed value (RFV), using a near-infrared
reflectance spectrophotometer.
1
/ Associate Professor, Biological Sciences Research Technician III, and Research Technician,
respectively, Klamath Experiment Station, Klamath Falls, OR.
164 Klamath Experiment Station
Oat Hay Variety Trial
Results and
Discussion
Variability was high in the trial in 1994, making variety separation
difficult. The highest yielding variety, Magnum, was not significantly different
than eight other varieties (Table 1). The only two entries with significantly
lower yield than Magnum were Magnum II and Dusty. These two varieties
are very short season while Magnum is a late maturing variety. Harvesting all
entries when Magnum was at soft dough resulted in the early varieties reaching stages too advanced for optimal production. This is reflected in the lower
CP and higher fiber content ofthe earlier maturing varieties. Additional testing
is required to reliably identify the best variety for forage production. In future
trials, the use of multiple harvest dates where individual varieties are harvested
as they reach the soft dough stage would be advisable.
Klamath Experiment Station
165
Oat Hay Variety Trial
Table 1.
Forage yield and quality of oat varieties grown at Klamath Experiment Station, OR, 1994.
Variety/
selection
Yield
Protein
ADF
NDF
tons/A
(%)
(%)
(%)
Cayuse
Border
Ajay
Magnum 11
83Ab3250
6.8
6.3
5.9
5.7
5.8
7.3
8.6
7.5
6.9
7.2
40.2
38.8
39.0
42.3
41.0
58.3
55.6
57.9
61.4
59.2
92
99
95
85
90
Rio Grande
Monida
Magnum
B-3
DU-1
5.8
6.1
7.3
5.0
5.5
6.6
7.8
8.8
7.2
6.7
42.5
41.0
38.5
43.7
44.2
61.6
59.5
57.0
63.9
64.6
84
91
97
80
79
Magnum/Magnum 11
Otana
6.0
6.8
6.4
7.2
44.4
39.4
63.3
57.3
80
95
6.1
18.7
1.5
7.3
19.7
2.1
41.3
8.8
5.2
60.0
7.8
6.6
89
13
17
Mean
CV (%)
LSD (0.05)
166 Klamath Experiment Station
RFV