NGN - Evaluating deep sowing of Oats in WA production systems

There has been a trend for increasing summer rain and later autumn sowing breaks throughout the WA wheatbelt. Potential utilisation of soil moisture stored below conventional sowing depths give growers the opportunity to potentially increase yield while mitigating abiotic risk. Oat seedlings emerge by elongation of both the mesocotyl and coleoptile so oats can be sown deeper than wheat and barley. Long mesocotyls and coleoptiles in oats would permit deep sowing into subsoil moisture stored from summer rains; enabling earlier germination and crop growth to occur under optimal conditions especially for longer season varieties. Although oats are not completely tolerant to frost and will get frosted, this is less so than wheat or barley. Sowing oats at depth when moisture is available would also provide a risk mitigation opportunity in a frost prone area. To better understand the fit of deep sown oats in their production systems, growers require knowledge of the depths at which oats can be sown and the agronomic impacts of seeding at depths below those currently recommended. Growers also need to be provided with information on potential changes to machinery that may be required to facilitate the deeper sowing of oats.