THE EFFECT OF SWATHING AT DIFFERENT STAGES OF MATURITY ON THE BUSHEL WEIGHT AND YIELD OF OATS

Abstract

Swathing tests were conducted over a 4-year period to determine the earliest stage of maturity at which oats could be cut without loss of bushel weight or yield.Cutting started when the kernel moisture content of the standing crop approximated 50 per cent and continued daily until the moisture content reached 14 per cent. The weight per measured bushel, 1000-kernel weight, and yield in bushels per acre were determined at the time the swath was picked up and threshed with the combine.An analysis of variance of the data indicated that oats may be swathed at a stage of maturity defined by a kernel moisture content of 35 per cent without affecting bushel weight or yield. Kernel moisture at swathing was significantly, negatively correlated with the bushel weight, 1000-kernel weight, and yield for the full range of the test, but this relationship became of a lower order as maturity advanced and was not correlated at a moisture level below 35 per cent.