Applied Water Use by Spring Cereals for Forage

Drought is a major concern for producers of food and forage crops. According to the U.S. Drought monitor, Central and Eastern Oregon in particular, are in severe drought. In the early 1990's, a trial was conducted to determine the yield per inch of water applied to 5 cereal species: barley, triticale, rye, wheat, and oat. All varieties received the same amount of irrigation and were harvested at late boot or soft dough growth stage. These data may help producers choose a variety and species of cereal to plant as emergency forage if irrigation water is limited. (8 pages,.docx file)
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