Editing Oat (section)

=== Cultivation ===

Oats are [[annual plant]]s best grown in [[temperate]] regions.<ref name="RBGKew"/> They tolerate cold winters less well than wheat, rye, or barley; they are harmed by sustained cold below {{convert|20|F|C|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bliss |first=Rosalie Marion |title=Hardy Oats Stand the Cold |url=https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2005/hardy-oats-stand-the-cold/ |publisher=USDA Agricultural Research Service |access-date=21 July 2024 }}</ref> They have a lower summer heat requirement and greater tolerance of (and need for) rain than the other cereals mentioned, so they are particularly important in areas with cool, wet summers, such as Northwest Europe.<ref name="RBGKew"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Oat Growth Guide |url=https://www.hutton.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/publications/Oat-Growth-Guide.pdf |publisher=[[Quaker Oats Company|Quaker]] |access-date=2 May 2024 }}</ref>

Oats can grow in most fertile, drained soils, being tolerant of a wide variety of soil types. Although better yields are achieved at a soil pH of 5.3 to 5.7, oats can tolerate soils with a pH as low as 4.5. They are better able to grow in low-nutrient soils than wheat or maize, but generally are less tolerant of high soil salinity than other cereals.<ref>{{cite book |last=Forsberg |first=Robert A. |title=The Oat Crop |date=1995 |publisher=[[Chapman & Hall]] |isbn=978-0-412-37310-7 |location=Suffolk |pages=223–224 }}</ref> Traditionally, US farmers grew oats alongside [[red clover]] and [[alfalfa]], which fixed nitrogen and provided animal [[forage]]. With less use of horses and more use of fertilizers, growth of these crops in the US declined. For example, the state of [[Iowa]] led US oat production until 1989, but has largely switched to maize and soybeans.<ref name="Eller 2017">{{Cite news |last=Eller |first=Donnelle |date=5 October 2017 |title=Iowa has world's largest cereal plant, but state's farmers lack market for oats |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2017/10/05/iowa-has-worlds-largest-cereal-plant-but-states-farmers-lack-market-oats/690998001/ |access-date=23 January 2025 }}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights=160>
File:Havreskjering Fossheim Lindahl.jpeg|Harvest in [[Jølster]], Norway, {{circa}} 1890
File:Harvesting oats in Brastad.jpg|Harvesting oats in [[Brastad]], Sweden, 2021
</gallery>