Yield Studies in Oats: IV The Influence of Climatic Factors Upon the Growth of A Spring Sown Variety “Record”

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Abstract
Summary.: Previously reported studies with oats have been continued. The present paper deals with the rate of growth of the plants in the field in relation to the meteorological conditions experienced in mid Wales. The method employed was to lift plants at weekly intervals and to measure the leaf area and obtain the dry weight of the top growth.1. It has been shown that the Unit Leaf Rate (measured on the “tops” of the plants only) is correlated with the previous rainfall and also with the temperature, during that period of growth in which the plants are forming new leaves and increasing their leaf area.2. The relative rate at which the leaf are& increased is correlated also with the previous rainfall; high rainfall ensures leaf development. The rate at which the area increases was negatively correlated with temperature under the field conditions. That is to say that the plant is a cool‐loving cereal.3. When the relative rate at which the dry weight of the tops increased was employed as the index of growth it was not possible to trace out significant relationships with the meteorological data.4. A comparison with the correlation studies of other workers is also made. Some of the limitations of the method are pointed out, and brief reference to previous criticisms of similar methods employed by other investigators is made. The method has been shown to provide data of a reliable kind, in the case of field grown plants. Previously no such field studies with our common crops had been made.

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