How much is oat seed per jin? Detailed explanation of sowing and harvest times and cultivation techniques
Oats, also called hulled oats, are a grass-family plant, referred to in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" as brome grass and wild wheat. So how much is the seed price per jin? When to sow and harvest? What are the cultivation techniques? According to the Jiangxi Seed Company, the price of oat seeds is around 8.60 yuan/jin, and the sowing rate per mu is 6--8 jin.
When are oats sown and harvested?
1. The planting time of oats varies by region. North China, Northwest China and Northeast China are spring-sowing areas, with a growth period of 80-115 days. The Southwest is a winter-sowing area, with a growth period of 230-245 days. Oats need more water, and China's main producing areas also belong to dry-farming agricultural regions, so it is extremely important to store water and preserve soil moisture through early autumn plowing, harrowing, leveling and compacting.
2. Oats should usually be harvested in early September.
The grains in the upper and lower parts of the oat panicle do not mature uniformly. When the grains in the middle and upper part of the panicle enter the late dough stage, they should be harvested in time. The late dough stage is shown by the oat stems being tough and not easy to break, and when the grains are pinched with a fingernail, they should be tough and not easy to crush. At this time they should be harvested promptly.
3. Oat harvest methods:
Harvesting can be done manually. When harvesting manually, the aboveground part of the oats should all be cut with a sickle, harvesting the whole plant.
Farmers with the means can also use small machinery for harvesting. When harvesting mechanically, note that the driving speed should be kept at 6-8 km per hour. Otherwise, it will not only cause damage to the harvester, but also cause problems such as missed harvesting and lodging of oats, seriously affecting yield.
With both harvest methods, the harvested oats need to continue drying in the field for 3-4 days, then be transported back to the yard for threshing. Using a combine harvester allows direct threshing, but the harvest time should be about 5-8 days later than manual harvesting. Farmers can judge by the following intuitive standard: pick a wheat ear and rub it with the palm; if the husk and grain separate easily, it is ready. Too late will increase grain shattering and broken grains, reducing yield. When using a combine harvester, the driving speed should be 8 km per hour.
What are the oat cultivation techniques?
The cultivation environment for oats
1. Temperature: Oats like cool conditions but are not cold-tolerant. The northern temperate zone is most suitable for planting. Seeds can germinate at 2-4 degrees C, and seedlings can endure low temperatures of -2 to -4 degrees C, making them the most cold-tolerant among cereal crops. In northern and northwestern China, winters are cold, so sowing can only be done in spring. In more southern areas, autumn sowing is possible, but they must mature before the arrival of high summer temperatures.
2. Water: Oats grow in cold high-altitude desert regions, but when the seeds germinate they need about 65% of their own weight in water. The transpiration coefficient is higher than that of barley and wheat, and they consume relatively more water. If water is insufficient during the growth period, the grains often fail to fill out and yield decreases. Therefore, oat roots and stems often reach about one meter in length, so they can absorb more water.
3. Soil: Under good cultivation conditions, oats can achieve good harvests on soils of various textures, but moist soil rich in humus is best. Their adaptability to acidic soil is stronger than that of other cereal crops, but they are not suitable for cultivation in saline-alkali soil.
Oat sowing techniques
1. Seed treatment: Before sowing oats, choose clear, windless weather. Spread the seeds thinly to a thickness of 2-3 cm and sun them for 3-5 days. Sunning the seeds can promote early germination, increase the germination rate, and bring about earlier emergence, and the ultraviolet rays in sunlight kill pathogens on the seed coat, which can reduce disease. Use 0.2% of the seed amount of seed-dressing bis or carbendazim to dress the seeds to prevent oat loose smut, rust, etc. In areas with severe underground pests, phoxim or carbofuran can also be used for seed dressing.
2. Sowing time: Sow as soon as the soil thaws about 10 cm in early spring. The suitable sowing period for oats is March 25 to April 15, with the best sowing period around Qingming, and no later than Guyu. According to rainfall conditions, sowing in time to catch soil moisture is especially key; securing seedlings is a major measure for high yield in dryland oats.
3. Sowing method: Oats are best sown with machinery or by manual drilling in furrows, and broadcasting is not suitable. The row spacing for drilling is 15-20 cm, and the depth should preferably be 3-5 cm. Prevent re-sowing and missed sowing; the seeding depth should be uniform and the sowing even. After sowing, level the soil so that soil and seeds are in close contact, preventing air leakage and sprout damage. The sowing rate per mu is 10-15 kg; for grain harvest it can be reduced as appropriate.
Field management of oats
1. Loosening soil and weeding: If rain or snow occurs before oat emergence, lightly harrow in time to break up crusting. Weed 2-3 times throughout the growth period. During the three-leaf stage, cultivate and loosen the soil and weed; weed early and shallowly to raise soil temperature, reduce water evaporation, promote early rooting and fast rooting, and preserve the full stand. Weed twice before jointing, and remove weeds in time in the middle and late stages. If the planting area is not large, manual weeding can be used. If the planting area is relatively large, chemical herbicides can be used. In the three-leaf stage, use 72% 2,4-D butyl ester emulsifiable concentrate at 60 ml/mu, or 75% tribenuron-methyl dry suspension at 1—2 g/mu, and spray evenly on a sunny, windless day with no dew.
2. Fertilization and irrigation: During the tillering and jointing stage of oats, apply 25 kg of ammonium sulfate per mu in combination with irrigation. In dryland, topdress according to rain. During the flowering and grain-filling stage of oats, a 0.2-0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate aqueous solution can be mixed with a 20% urea solution for foliar topdressing, spraying 70 kg of solution per mu, and spraying again once after 7 days to promote grain filling. Apply foliar fertilizer at the right time to increase grain weight. In places with irrigation conditions, if spring drought occurs, irrigate once from the three-leaf stage to the tillering stage, and irrigate once during the grain-filling stage.
3. Harvesting and storage: Oats can be cut twice from the jointing to flowering stage for green fodder. The first cutting is when the plant height is 50-60 cm, leaving a stubble of 5—6 cm; the second cutting is after 30-40 days, with no stubble left. Oat silage can be harvested from the heading to dough stage. If whole-plant silage of oats with mature grains is needed, it can be harvested at the early full-ripening stage. Oat grains are harvested at the dough stage.