YIELD AND DISEASE-ESCAPE POTENTIAL OF FALL-SOWN OATS POSSESSING SEED DORMANCY

Abstract

Several "dormoat" lines that resemble Avena sativa L. ’Clintland’ in seed and plant morphology but having the seed dormancy of A. fatua L. were synthesized to test the hypothesis that fall-sown dormant oats that do not germinate until the following spring will yield more grain in Canada than spring-sown oats. In 1966, seed yield increases of 13 and 24% were obtained at Ottawa from 1965 fall sowings of dormant seed compared with spring sowings of non-dormant seed of the same "dormoat" lines. Greater seed size and escape from diseases because of early maturity were mainly responsible for the higher yields of the fall-sown as compared with the spring-sown plots. In spite of these encouraging results, "dormoats" will not be commercially useful until the spring emergence of fall-sown seed is greatly increased.