COMPARAISONS DE TROIS CEREALES DE PRINTEMPS ET DE CERTAINS DE LEURS CULTIVARS RECOLTES EN VERT ET A LA MATURITE

Abstract

Three spring cereals and nine of their cultivars were compared over a period of 3 yr for the production of forage and grains. No significant difference was found in the yields of forage (soft dough stage) between cultivars within a given species except for barley where Birka yielded less than the other cultivars. No significant difference was recorded in the yields of grains between cultivars within oats, wheat, two-rowed barley or six-rowed barley. For the whole experiment, the six-rowed barley produced the highest yields of grains and belonged to the first group for the production of forage. Within a species, the forages produced by the cultivars did not vary significantly in their organic constituents or in their mineral composition except for a few elements. The fat content was higher in oats than in wheat and barley, but the hemicellulosis content was higher in barley than in the two other cereals. Wheat contained less Ca, K, Mg and Na than oats and barley while oats has more Na and Mn than barley. The cultivars of the three main spring cereals recommended for grain production in Quebec are also adapted, except Birka, for forage production.Key words: Oat, wheat, barley, forage, grains, yield, quality