LESSON 5
Growing Oats
NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE/COMMON CORE STANDARDS ADDRESSED!
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.7 Translate quantitative or technical information
expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate
information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.
WORK!

Identify the uses and types of oats.
 Identify areas where oats are grown.
 Explain the cultural practices of oat
production.
 Explain oat processing.
TERMS
 Blasting
 Groat
 Oat
 Lodging
 Kernel
 Companion
 Top Dressing
INTEREST APPROACH
 View this sample of slow cook oatmeal and instant oatmeal.
 Compare the two samples, looking at their color and texture.
 Now cook the two products. Again, have the students compare
the two products.
 What are the differences between oat cultivars as well as other
crops?
OBJECTIVE 1
Identify the uses and types of oats.
HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT
ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?
I.


Oats are a cereal crop
grown for human and
animal consumption.
By-products of oat
production also have a
number of human uses.
Oats are grouped
according to the number
of chromosomes and
each cultivar has their
own distinct differences.
Microsoft.com
HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT ARE
THE DIFFERENT TYPES?


Oats are most
commonly used
for feeding
livestock.
Livestock rely on
oats as a source
of protein and
bulk.
Microsoft.com
HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT
ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?
 Oats used for human consumption are processed
for use in oatmeal, cakes, cookies, breads, and
cereals.
 Only high quality oats are used for
human food.

Oat hulls, a by-product of oat production, can be
used to make plastics, paper, and resins.
Solvents used in processing vegetable and
mineral oils are also made from oat hulls.
HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT
ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?
3. Oats are classified according to their number
of chromosomes; those with 42
chromosomes are the most prominent.

The oats in this classification include the
common white oats, hull-less oats,
cultivated red oats, common wild oats, and
wild red oats.

There are also distinct differences between
each oat cultivar.
HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT
ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?




Oats can be classified according to the
kernel color.
The different colors include white, yellow,
red, gray, and black.
Oats can be spring or winter cultivars.
They may also be grouped as early,
medium, or late maturity.
WHITE
YELLOW
BLACK
GRAY
WHERE ARE OATS GROWN?
II. The top five states in oat
production are Wisconsin,
North Dakota, Minnesota,
Iowa, and South Dakota.
 Oats can be grown in a
variety of soils and climatic
conditions but prefer cool,
moist climates.
 The majority of oats grown
in NM are baled for forage.
WHERE ARE OATS GROWN?


Cool weather is necessary
during ripening; hot weather
during blossoming can
cause blasting.
Blasting is the failure of
flowers to produce seed
because of unfavorable
conditions.
WHERE ARE OATS GROWN?

Some of the highest recorded oat yields have
occurred in Canada, the northern U.S., and
northern Europe where the weather is the coolest.
WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF
OAT PRODUCTION?
III. Oats commonly rotated with other crops are used
as a companion crop.
 Oats can successfully follow corn, cotton, and
potato crops and can be used to help establish
grasses and small-seeded legumes such as
alfalfa. The first cutting would be an oat alfalfa
mix. Following cuttings would only be alfalfa as
the oats are an annual crop.
WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF
OAT PRODUCTION?

Oat seeds are commonly treated with fungicides
before planting. Seed oats should not be used for
feed purposes or human consumption.

The remaining cultural practices of oats are similar
to those of wheat.
WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES
OF OAT PRODUCTION?
A. Oats can be sown with little or no seedbed preparation.
 Oats can be broadcast and covered by disking or sown
in a field that has been disked or field harrowed.
 Heavy soils or soils with weed problems should be fall
plowed and disked two to three times in the spring
before planting.
WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT
PRODUCTION?
B. Soil tests should be used to help offset variances
in soil types, cropping practices, and fertility
levels.
 Oats are capable of producing sufficient crops on
low fertility soils, however, they commonly
produce less return per acre.
 Top dressing winter oats with nitrogen fertilizers
helps improve forage production and provide
earlier grazing.
WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT
PRODUCTION?



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C. Winter oats can be sown from midSeptember to mid-February depending on
the area.
They should be sown early enough so they
are well established before the first heavy
frost.
Spring oats can be sown from late January
to early May, again depending on the area.
Spring oats should be sown before the soil
temperature averages 50°F.
WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT
PRODUCTION?
D. Oats can be sown by broadcasting or drilling.
 Broadcasting is quicker but requires more
seed and is not recommended on soils with
limited moisture.
 Drilling also provides more uniform stands.
Oats should be sown 1 to 1½ inches deep in
moist soils, 2–3 inches deep in drier soils.
WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT
PRODUCTION?

Winter oats are harvested in late June and spring oats are
harvested in late July.
 Oats require 24 to 30 days to mature depending on the
area.
 It may take over a week following maturity to reach 13 to 14
percent moisture.
 Some producers cut and windrow oats and combine several
days later to help reduce loss due to weather, shattering,
and lodging.
WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT
PRODUCTION?
F. Like all crops, oats are susceptible to a
number of pest problems.
G. Common oat diseases include loose smut,
covered smut, stem rust, crown rust, yellow
dwarf, and powdery mildew.
H. Common oat insects include the chinch bug,
green bug, grain bug, grasshoppers,
armyworms, and leaf hoppers.
LOOSE SMUT
COVERED SMUT
STEM RUST
YELLOW DWARF
POWDERY MILDEW
CHINCH BUG
GREENBUG
GRAIN BUG
GRASSHOPPER ARMY WORM LEAF HOPPER
HOW ARE OATS PROCESSED?
IV. Oats require processing before being
consumed by humans.
 Groat is the unground grain of oats.
 The groat is roasted, separated from the hull,
and passed between large rollers.
HOW ARE OATS PROCESSED?
The rollers flatten the groat’s into rolled oats.
 The rolled oats, or flat oats, are what we are
accustomed to seeing in oatmeal.
 Following additional processing, the oats can
be used in a variety of breakfast foods,
cookies, and breads.

REVIEW / SUMMARY




Oats are a cereal crop grown for human and
animal consumption.
The top five states in oat production are
Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and
South Dakota.
Oats commonly rotated with other crops are
used as a companion crop.
Oats require processing before being consumed
by humans.
THE END!