Variety Descriptions
OATS
Kanota Oats: A northern San Joaquin Valley favorite for over 50 years, was originated in the Midwest. Their ability to grow in dry sandy soils and along with being fine stemmed has helped maintain popularity. Kanotas are suspetible to many diseases, especially crown rust, however disease usually doesn’t affect yield much. Lodging is very common to the variety, however they are still an excellent choice for hay.
Montezuma Oats: Very early maturing (about a week or more earlier than Kanotas). They seem to do well on heavier more fertile ground. Montezumas can get tall can produce some very high yielding hay or silage in these conditions. However the quality will as the yield increases deponding on soil type, fertility, adequate moisture and stress. Standability is slightly better than Kanotas as is its disease rating.
Swan Oats: A couple days later than Kanotas in maturity. Swans were released in Australia in 1967. They are very tall with good grain and standability is very good for their size, making them an excellent candidate for orage mixes. Swans are usually coarse stemmed and shouldn’t be used for hay.
Sierra Oats: Similar to Swan maturity (about 1-2 days later). Stems are usually moderate to coarse. They have distinctive large green and white florets. Sierras are used for the same purposes as Swans.
Cayuse Oats: Are a public variety which is quite late, compared to early oats such as Kanotas and Swans. It has coarse, stiff stems and dense moderately wide leaves. It is a common component in forage mixes, where it contributes to the tonnage if the early oats are in the milk or dough stage. They are usually less expensive than other varieties helping make mixes more economical. Digestibility studies have shown Cayuse and other later maturing varieties can be as good or better quality cut in the boot stage.
Pert Oats: Are a new variety recently released in California. It originated in Australia. Perts have done well in U.C.C.E. regional trials. Similar in physical traits to Cayuse, Perts should be used for silage straight or in a forage mix. Under good conditions it can be tall, with moderate lodging resistance. Perts are moderate maturing, flowering a week to 10 days later than Kanotas.
Barleys
Belford Barley: The variety most often used in forage mixes primarily because of availability. It is usually the first component of a mix to head out with prominent light green or yellowish club-shaped heads. Without any forage barley research in the western states the last few years, Belford remains in mixes.
Other Varieties Include:
Sara Barley: A new beardless variety from Oregon State U. First year in our plot.
Starling Barley: Second year in our plot, beardless variety from VA.
Nomini Barley: Second year in our plot, beardless variety from VA. Yielded well with decent disease resistance and stand ability.
MD-55 Barley: A winter experimental from Univ. of MD.
MD-87 Barley: A winter experimental from Univ. of MD. These research experimentals have looked great and performed well in our plot in ’96 and ’97, last year they were hurt by the late moisture.
Triticales
Standswell Triticale: A spring forage variety sent to us from Manitoba, Canada.
TriCal 2700 Triticale: A forage variety developed by the Resource Seeds, Inc. and marketed by Stanislaus Farm Supply. 2700 has a good package of characterisitics, however it is a beared variety and fiber levels can skyrocked post boot stage. Recommended it is cut at boot stage; 2700 can have a small window for optimal yield/quality in years of late rains.
Juan Triticale: An old public variety established for grain, usually available in limited amounts. Similar to TriCal 2700 without quite as good a disease package and matures earlier making silage harvest even tougher.
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