Spring Oats – May 2020

Crop Growth

SRUC’s monitored crop data for late May is shown in the table below.  This data is generated in commercial crops in your area so is indicative of the disease pressure and growth stages on farms at the moment. It should give you a guide to the generic disease pressure in your area

Spring Oats	Average	Maximum	Minimum
Crop Growth Stage	21.5	22	21

Pests

Keep an eye out for patches of stunted growth which may be due to cereal cyst nematode (CCN) or free-living nematodes.

Plant Growth Regulators

Spring oats, being weaker strawed than barley, are vulnerable to lodging particularly if grown in a high fertility situation and if a weaker strawed variety. However, care is needed this season due to dry conditions and crops under stress.  The resistance to lodging scores of varieties on the 2020 Scottish Recommended List are given below:

Resistance to lodging scores of oat varieties on the 2020 Scottish Recommended List

Delfin	8	Yukon	8	WPB Elyan	6
WPB Isabel	[9]	Aspen	7	Conway	8
Elison	[8]	Canyon	7	Firth	7

[ ] = AHDB limited data

Oats are susceptible to any kind of stress and should be treated with care. Do not treat crops under drought stress with PGR.