| Oat production has increased dramatically in Western Canada. Until recently all oat cultivars have been tall, yet excess straw and lodging are problems facing oat producers. With the development of the new semidwarf oat cultivar, AC Ronald, there is increased interest in how a semidwarf cultivar performs relative to conventional tall oat cultivars. Experiments were conducted in 1999 and 2000 to examine and compare yield physiology and seed quality of AC Ronald and the conventional height oat cultivar Triple Crown under different N fertilizer rates and rotation (grain legume versus oilseed as previous crop). A second objective was to examine soil water dynamics (evapotranspiration (ET), soil water extraction patterns, and water use efficiency (VWUE)) of both oat cultivars under different N fertilizer rates and rotation, and to compare these parameters to semidwarf and conventional height wheat cultivars. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
