Does Phosphorus Uptake Affect Crop Lodging in Oat Genotypes?.

Compared with wheat, oat crops are prone to severer lodging under high N supply conditions. A field study involving 10 oat genotypes treated with four levels of N fertilizer was conducted for two years across different ecozones in Canada. Plant N and P uptake were measured at flowering and again at maturity. Belgian lodging scores were determined when it occurred and also at physiological maturity. Yield and yield components were determined at harvest. It was observed that oat plants accumulated more P and had smaller N:P ratio at the Ottawa than at the Normandin and Melfort sites. Accumulation of P in oat plant stems at flowering was often associated with crop lodging. Genotypes also differed largely in N and P uptake and N:P ratio between sites. It is concluded that crop lodging is likely associated with an imbalanced accumulation of N and P in oat plants.