The authors are
Melvin R. George, agronomist, Cooperative Extension, UC Davis;
Thomas E. Kearney, farm advisor, and
Carl A. Schoner, Jr., county director, Cooperative Extension, Yolo County.
Formerly Circular 481
Oats are grown in almost every county in California
to provide hay or silage for cattle, sheep and horses.
The growing pleasure horse industry offers a ready
market for high quality, pure oat hay, while dairies
use oats alone for silage or in mixtures with other
winter cereals. Oats are frequently grown with vetch
or Austrian winter peas to increase the resulting
forage’s protein content. Winter forage or silage
blends may include almost any combination of oats,
barley, wheat, rye, triticale, ryegrass and vetch.
The exact amount of oat forage produced annually
in California varies, but in 1978 and 1979 between
280,000 and acres of grain hay produced 290,000
560,000 to 575,000 tons. In 1974, Sonoma, Stanis-
laus, Merced and San Luis Obispo counties were
the leading producers of small grain hay, according
to the Agricultural Census, In the same year 45,000
acres of grass silage and haylage produced 464,500
tons of green material. Leading counties in grass
silage and haylage production were Stanislaus,
Tulare, San Joaquin and Fresno; each has a large dairy
industry.
Varieties
California oat varieties are classified as red oats be-
cause the husks vary from light to dark red. This is
in contrast to white or yellow oats grown in humid
areas of the United States. Red oat types evolved in
the warmer, drier climate of the Mediterranean area
and are more adaptable to the climatic conditions
of California and the Southwest than are the white-
yellow types.
California Red
History: A strain of Red Rustproof, once a dominant
variety in the south central states. Numerous intro-
ductions, particularly of “Texas Red,” were made.
Not all present-day stocks are identical. The majori-
ty, however, can be traced to a mass purified stock
first released as Foundation seed in 1937 by the
University of California.
Description: Tall, fine stemmed, leafy, liberally
pigmented with purple; late maturing, with a rather
strong winter habit. Although moderately resistant
to stem and crown rusts, California Red is the most
susceptible, of any California oat variety, to barley
yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).
Recommendation: Better suited for hay than for
grain. Seed shatters if strong winds occur at maturity.
Windrowing is suggested when harvesting for grain.
It should never be sown in late winter because of
the yellow dwarf virus hazard or where heat and
drought are severe. California Red’s fine stem and
leafiness make it desirable for either dryland or
irrigated hay.
Montezuma
History: Selected in 1965 from a group of 88 lines
derived from oat Composite Cross II which involved
crosses of cultivated oats with wild oats (Avena
fatua). It was developed by C. A. Suneson, of USDA
and U.C.
Description: Medium height, medium to fine
stemmed, leafy, and earliest maturing of the Califor-
nia oat varieties. Susceptible to rusts when condi-
tions are favorable for these diseases, Montezuma
has been rated relatively tolerant of BYDV.
Recommendation: A dual purpose oat variety
suited for both hay and grain. High grain yield and
shatter resistance make it an especially desirable oat
grain. Leafiness, medium stem and high grain yield
make it a desirable hay. Early maturity makes it
desirable for double cropping on irrigated lands.
Montezuma is suitable for either dryland or irri-
gated hay and grain.
Sierra
History: Developed from a special cross of Kanota
(A. byzantina L.) and a rust resistant wild selection
of wild oats (A. fatua L.) by C. A. Suneson, USDA
and U.C. It was released in 1962.
3
Description: Medium height, coarse stemmed, leafy
with broad leaves and early maturing (a week later
than Montezuma). Susceptible to rusts when condi-
tions favor these diseases, Sierra has been rated
relatively tolerant of BYDV.
Recommendation: A dual purpose oat variety,
suited for both hay and grain. Its relatively high
grain yield and shatter resistance make it an es-
pecially desirable oat grain. Leafiness and high grain
yield make it a desirable hay, although some hay
buyers may object to its relatively coarse stem. Sierra
is suitable for either dryland or irrigated hay and
grain.
Curt
History: Derived from crosses involving Victoria-
Richland, Red Rustproof, Palestine and Kanota. De-
veloped by C. A. Suneson at U.C. Davis, it was cer-
tified by the California Crop Improvement Associa-
tion in 1958.
Description: A short, fine stemmed, leafy oat. Early
maturing, similar to Montezuma, it is rated relatively
tolerant to BYDV and is susceptible to rusts when
conditions favor these diseases.
Recommendation: A dual purpose oat variety
suited for both hay and grain. Curt has shatter
resistance with grain yields slightly less than Mon-
tezuma and Sierra. Its fine stem, leafiness and mod-
erately high grain yield make it a desirable hay,
although yields have been somewhat less than Mon-
tezuma, Sierra and California Red. Curt is suitable
for either dryland or irrigated hay and grain. Curt’s
early maturity makes it a desirable oat for double
cropping on irrigated lands.
Kanota
History: A selected strain of Fulghum released by
the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Certi-
fied seed of Kanota was released in 1928 in California
where it soon became a leading variety.
Description: Tall, medium stemmed, sparsely
leafed. Seeds tend to shatter. Relatively early head-
ing, being three to four days later than Montezuma,
4
Kanota is as tolerant of BYDV as any variety grown
in California.
Recommendation: Better suited for hay than for
grain. Seed shatters if strong winds occur at ma-
turity. Windrowing is suggested when harvesting
for grain. Kanota’s maturity range and relatively stiff
straw base make it very satisfactory for sowing with
vetch. Its hay yields have been similar to those of
Montezuma, and it is suitable for either dryland or
irrigated hay.
Cayuse
History: A spring oat with light yellow grain from
the 1952 cross of the varieties Craig and Alamo
made by N. F. Jensen, Cornell University.
Description: A tall, moderately late maturing oat
when grown in California. Panicles are open and
spreading and the straw is strong and resistant to
lodging. Resistant to helminthisporium blight, it is
also highly resistant to New York smut races and is
tolerant to rust in California. Its yellow dwarf tol-
erance is expressed mainly as its yielding ability in
spite of moderate discoloration after severe attack
by viriliferous aphids. A weakness is the relatively
low weight of its seed. The grain averages about 35
pounds per bushel.
Recommendation: Best suited for irrigated hay.
It is not usually recommended as a dryland variety
in the Sacramento Valley because of its late ma-
turity. With adequate moisture and high fertility,
Cayuse is a high yielding hay or silage oat. Growers
may wish to consider harvesting it in the flower
stage (shortly after heading) to increase protein and
green color, decrease plant height and increase
stem pliability. This variety has been the highest
yielding oat in forage trials at U.C. Davis. When
cut at the flower stage, it yields more total tonnage
than most varieties harvested in soft dough.
Swan
History: Released by the Western Australia Depart-
ment of Agriculture in 1967; a sister line to the va-
riety Irwin. It was bred from a cross of the varieties
Kent and Ballidu.
Description: Tall, medium diameter stem, leafy,
early in maturity (a week later than Montezuma).
Swan is moderately susceptible to rust when condi-
tions favor these disease organisms; it has been rated
relatively tolerant to BYDV Grain yields have been
slightly less than Montezuma and Sierra in southern
California tests. The lightly awned grain has excel-
lent bushel weights.
Recommendation: A dual purpose oat variety
suited for both hay and grain. Swan has produced
high hay yields, irrigated and dryland. It is leafy,
medium stemmed and demonstrates greater resist-
ance to lodging than other varieties tested. This
new variety was released in 1981 by the Depart-
ment of Agronomy and Range Science at U.C. Davis.
Swan is a good choice for planting with vetch
because of its maturity range and resistance to
lodging.
Coker 227
History: Developed and patented by Coker Pedi-
greed Seed Company in South Carolina. It can only
be sold as Certified seed.
Description: Medium in height, medium stemmed,
leafy. It matures 10 days later than Montezuma.
Coker 227 tolerates rust and is very tolerant of
BYDV.
Recommendation: On the basis of two years test-
ing in Yolo County appears to be equal to Monte-
Harvest Year
Variety 1970 1975 1976 1977 1979 1980 1981
Cayuse - 9.17 7.88 7.39 8.70 9.44 5.62
Cayuse (flower stage) - - - - 7.33 8.31 -
Swan - 8.28 7.55 6.34 7.79 7.60 6.30
Sierra 8.61 7.51 7.26 7.47 6.92 7.22 9.24
California Red 6.87 7.59 - 6.38 5.81 6.60 4.84
Kanota - 6.68 7.10 6.45 - - -
Montezuma 7.03 6.26 7.01 5.71 5.45 6.52 7.44
Curt 5.14 5.66 - - 5.56 6.22 7.39
zuma in hay yielding ability, equal to Montezuma in
tolerance to BYDV and more tolerant of rust dis-
eases than Montezuma. When harvested at the soft
dough stage, Coker 227 will be a week to 10 days
later than Montezuma but earlier than California
Red.
Hay Quality
Although the direct relationship to hay quality is
not known, fine stems and leafiness are often con-
sidered quality factors in oat hay. California Red
has fineness of stem and leafiness superior to Curt,
Montezuma, Swan, Cayuse and Sierra. Curt is next
to California Red oats in fineness of stem and is
only slightly less leafy. Montezuma oat stems are
slightly larger in diameter and the variety appears
slightly less leafy. Swan and Cayuse stems are some-
what coarser than Montezuma, but they are equally
l e e . Sierra stems can be very coarse when grown
in high yielding environments, but Sierra has many
large, broad leaves. All six varieties are palatable
to livestock when cut at the proper stage of
maturity.
Tables 1 and 2 present hay yields for several oat
varieties used in California. Irrigated trials were
conducted at U.C. Davis and dryland trials were
conducted in western Yolo County. Table 3 com-
pares six oat hay varieties grown for hay in the
Sacramento Valley.
Average
Tons % Montezuma
8.03 125
7.82 131
7.31 114
7.75 119
6.35 99
6.74 107
6.49 100
5.99 92
Harvest Year
Variety 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1974 1975 1977 1978 1980 1981
Cayuse - - - - - - - 1.77 5.08 1.72 4.09 5.00 6.64
Swan - - - - - - 3.15 1.81 4.75 1.58 4.21 3.84 5.54
Avon
California Red 4.75 2.24 4.58 4.29 3.91 2.58 3.30 .99 4.81 1.63 3.63 4.12 6.06
Montezuma - - - 4.14 3.06 1.63 3.41 1.82 5.18 1.76 3.51 3.63 4.78
Sierra 4.15 1.72 3.36 3.82 3.16 2.04 3.08 1.59 4.68 1.82 3.99 - -
- - - - - 3.69 4.75 Coker 227
Curt 3.72 2.09 3.57 3.69 2.92 1.53 3.37 1.43 4.84 - 3.51 - -
- 1.61 - - -
- - 4.24 - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - Kanota 4.02 1.74 3.68 - 3.90 -
TABLE 3. A Comparison of Six Oat Varieties Grown for Hay in the Sacramento Valley.
Disease Resistance Grain Production
Variety Dryland Irrigated Diameter Leafiness Width Lodging Dwarf Rust Montezuma1 Date2 Yield Shatter
Maturity Average
Stem Leaf Relative to Harvest Yellow
Height (Inches)
California Red 24-57 56-62 F VLF N S VS T + 13 days Late May L S
Montezuma 23-50 52-55 F to M LF M T T S 0 Early to mid-May H S
Sierra 23-50 56-62 C LF B T MT S + 6 d a y s Early to mid-May H R
Curt 21-48 43-48 F VLF N S MT S + 2 days Early to mid-May H R
Kanota 24-50 57-60 F to M LF M S VT S + 4 days Earlytomid-May L S
Cayuse 29-52 58-69 M to C VLF B T MT T + 2 0 d a y s Early June M to H R
Swan 20-53 57-62 M LF M VT T M S + 6 d a y s Earlytomid-May M to H M R
‘Number of days later than Montezuma when all harvested at soft dough stage of maturity.
2Average harvest period for soft dough stage hay in the Sacramento Valley.
B = broad; C = coarse; F = fine; H = high; L = low; LF = leafy; M = medium; N = narrow; R = resistant; S = susceptible; T = tolerant; M R = moderately resistant;
M S = moderately susceptible; MT = moderately tolerant; VLF = very leafy; VS = very susceptible; VT = very tolerant.
Average
Tons % Calif. Red
4.05 114
3.55 101
4.24 103
3.61 100
3.29 93
3.04 91
4.22 83
3.07 87
2.99 87
Cultural Practices
In California most oat hay is grown dryland. Dry-
farmed oat hay can be grown annually (in high
rainfall areas) or under a summer fallow system
(every other year) where annual rainfall is less than
14 inches. Yields of dryfarmed oat hay vary widely
from year to year depending on amount and distri-
bution of rainfall (Table 3). Oats will produce sub-
stantially greater hay yields with irrigation on highly
fertile soils than when dryfarmed on marginal soils.
In intensively farmed areas oats for hay can be a
good choice as the first crop in a double cropping
system because of the earliness of harvest. The oat
hay crop can be removed three weeks to a month
before barley or wheat are ready for grain harvest.
In addition, the hay crop leaves a minimum of resi-
due after harvest.
Oats are a good rotation crop in dryland barley and
wheat growing areas because they are not suscep-
tible to the same root and foliar diseases that affect
other cereals. A hay crop can reduce weeds that
often plague barley and wheat because the forage
is cut at an immature stage and weeds do not have
the opportunity to produce seeds. This is especially
true, if oats are harvested for hay in the flower
stage.
Seedbed Preparation
Summer fallow method. Seedbed preparation
with summer fallowing consists of spring plowing
or chiselling, followed by disking and harrowing.
Plowing starts after volunteer cereals and weeds
have made some growth but before weeds have made
seed and while there is ample soil moisture for
easy tilling. Summer fallowing allows seedbed prep-
aration well before the normal fall planting period.
This permits fall planting before significant rainfall
has occurred. Summer fallowing is highly desired
under dry farm conditions because it permits timely
planting, reduces weed problems, stores moisture
and increases soil fertility, thus reducing fertilizer
cost. The main disadvantage is that only one crop
is obtained every two years.
Annual dryland cropping. Seedbed preparation
begins with disking or chiselling dry soil in early
summer. However, it is usually necessary to wait
until after fall rains to prepare a satisfactory seedbed;
then, seedbed preparation is completed with shal-
low chiselling or disking and harrowing. Disadvan-
tages of annual cropping are: increased tillage and
fertilizer costs, increased risk of crop failure due
to inadequate moisture and buildup of weeds and
crop diseases due to more frequent cropping.
Irrigated cropping. In irrigated areas seedbed
preparation depends on the amount of crop residue
present and soil compaction. It may be necessary
to plow or chisel to bury previous crop residue and
alleviate soil compaction. Plowing or chiselling is
followed by disking and harrowing for final seedbed
preparation. At times floating or finish leveling may
facilitate irrigation. Following summer crops that
leave little residue, a seedbed can often be prepared
by disking several times and harrowing.
Planting Date
The growth cycle of oats, a winter annual, should
correspond to the rainy season. With dry farming
early fall plantings allow oats to benefit from natural
rainfall and cool temperature, particularly in dryland
areas with shallow soils. Early planting is less ini-
portant on deep soils with adequate moisture stor-
age or on land that can be irrigated. Late planted
oats may complete their growth cycle so rapidly
that the plants do not have time to obtain optimum
size for maximum production. A general statement
is: The earlier oats are planted, the greater height
they will attain. November is the month recom-
mended for planting in the Sacramento Valley how-
ever, planting dates range from October through
January.
Planting Rates
Oats contain from 11,700 to 15,400 seeds per
pound, depending on the variety and bushel weight.
(See Table 4.) Recommended seeding rates range
from 70 to 100 pounds per acre. Drilling is pre-
ferred over broadcast plantings because it saves seed.
ensures better germination and produces more uni-
form stands. Planting depth is not as critical for
oats as it is with barley and wheat because oat
seedlings can emerge from greater soil depths.
Recommended planting depth ranges from 1/2 inch
to 2 inches.
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If vetch is planted with oats, 60 to 75 pounds of
oats should be seeded with enough vetch to total
100 pounds of seed per acre. Vetch production
success fluctuates, depending on climatic condi-
tions; therefore, enough oats should be planted to
give a hay crop even if the vetch fails to establish
or be productive.
Oats may also be interseeded into sparse alfalfa
stands to increase hay production of the first cut-
ting in the last year of the stand. An early maturing
oat variety seeded at 60 lb/A is recommended for
this purpose. Traditionally the seed is broadcast
after springtooth harrowing the alfalfa stand. The
seed is covered by light harrowing. The number
of trips over the field can be reduced if the seed
is drilled with one of the grassland drills or inter-
seeders introduced to California by various seed
companies and agricultural equipment companies.
TABLE 4. Seed Weights for Seven Oat Varieties
Commonly Grown in California.
Variety S e e d s per Ib
Curt 11,705
Montezuma 11,859
California Red 13,244
Swan 10,611
Cayuse 15,376
Kanota 14,871
Sierra 11,311
Fertilization
Nitrogen. The fertilizer element most needed by
oats in California. Suggested application rates are as
follows:
Annual dryland cropping: 30 to 80 pounds of
Summer fallow dryland: 20 to 60 pounds of
Irrigated area: 20 to 80 pounds of nitrogen.
nitrogen per acre.
nitrogen.
Up to 25 pounds of nitrogen can be drilled with
oat seed at planting. The balance of nitrogen fer-
tilizer should be soil incorporated before planting.
plants develop deficiency symptoms early in spring, If
additional nitrogen can be applied as topdressing.
Phosphorus. The second most important fertilizer
element for oat production. Most phosphorus de-
ficiencies occur on upland and terrace soils. These
soils occur on the edges of valleys and are usually
farmed without irrigation; most are shallow with
claypan or hardpan development. The sodium bi-
carbonate soil test is reliable for determining phos-
phorus requirements. A soil with a reading of less
than 6 ppm is highly responsive (deficient); 6 to 12
ppm is probably responsive (probably deficient);
and above 12 ppm is usually not responsive (not
deficient). Deep alluvial soils which occupy most
of the irrigated areas are adequate in phosphorus.
When phosphorus is needed, it should be drilled
with the seed at planting. Broadcast phosphorus is
less efficient. Where phosphorus cannot be drilled,
it should be disked or harrowed into the soil at
the time the seed is covered. The recommended
rate for phosphorus is 20 to 40 pounds of P2O5 per
acre. When drilling nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizer
with the seed at planting, it is considered hazard-
ous to use more than 150 pounds of total material
per acre. High rates of fertilizer placed directly with
the seed can burn seed. Phosphorus is relatively
safe, whereas nitrogen and potassi