Chapter V - FODDER OATS IN THE MAGHREB

Al Faïz Chaouki, Mohamed Chakroun, Mohamed Bechir Allagui and Adnane Sbeita

SUMMARY

In the Maghreb, oats are grown mainly for animal feed, on about a half a million hectares, pure or mixed with vetch. The main use is as hay, fed to livestock when green forage is not available (summer and early autumn). Some farmers make oaten hay for sale as a cash crop, especially in drought years. Oats are sown in the autumn, in rotation with wheat, food legumes or fallow. Plant breeding has had an important role in improving material from other countries to fit the agroclimatic conditions of the south Mediterranean. With farmers beginning to grow more forage for their livestock, interest in oats is growing, replacing use of fallow and rough grazing, the area of which is declining steadily.

Introduction

The Maghreb - from the Arabic for "west" - is that region of Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea, but excluding Egypt. It comprises Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. It stretches from 13°W to 25°E and from latitudes 19°N to nearly 38°N. The Maghreb countries were under various regimes of colonial rule over a long period, including Roman and Ottoman occupations. For part of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia were under French control, and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was occupied by Italy in 1912. Algeria regained its independence in 1962, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 1951, Morocco in 1956 and Tunisia in 1957.

The Maghreb covers over 4 700 km², but well over 80 percent of the area is desert. Its relief is in two broad categories: the Atlas and the Sahara. The Atlas mountains are a group of related ranges stretching from western Morocco to northeastern Tunisia; the Atlas system runs southwest to northeast roughly adjacent and parallel to the coastline. The northern mountains capture most of the precipitation, so the agricultural lands are limited to the north. The climate of the agricultural areas of the Maghreb is typically Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and rain occurring in the cool season. Temperature is governed not only by altitude but also by the degree of continentality; inland stations have relatively hotter summers and colder winter than areas that benefit from the buffering effects of the sea.

Oats (Avena sativa L.) are the most important sown forage in the rainfed area of the Maghreb region. European cultivars were introduced in the colonial period, which lasted from the end of the eighteenth century until 1960, and were used initially as a companion crop for vetch. Since their introduction, oats have shown good adaptation to some ecological zones of the region and are widely grown and used as a dried fodder, eaten fresh by livestock or for sale (hay) as a cash crop. The total area under oats in the Maghreb is estimated at about half a million hectares. The area sown to oats alone is increasing continuously, while that of oats mixed with vetch is declining. There are two explanations for this trend: (i) the high cost and the non-availability of vetch seed; and (ii) the complicated crop management of the mixture (crop competition, fertilization, weed control, etc.).

Research on oats started a few years after their introduction, and consisted of trials with European material. Then breeding programmes began, particularly in Algeria and Morocco, since the introduced European cultivars were not adapted to local conditions. After independence, oat research stopped for quite a long time. Farmers used varieties selected during the colonial period, and some imported from Europe and Australia. Breeding programmes were started in Tunisia (1975) and Morocco (1981), which have produced seven new cultivars in Tunisia and 11 new cultivars in Morocco.

Oats in Morocco

Oats (A. sativa) were introduced to Morocco by the French at the beginning of the twentieth century. At that time, most forage came mainly from natural grazing, stubbles, fallow, lucerne and barley. There were several reasons for the success of oats, according to Grillot (1938). It was a crop that French farmers knew well, and yielded several products, such as grain and forage, or could be mixed with vetch. It was also in particular immune to the Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) that caused serious damage to other cereals.

In Morocco, oats are grown essentially in rainfed areas, almost exclusively for forage, mainly hay, alone or as a mixture with annual legumes, mainly vetch. The current areas are about 70 000 ha for oats and 50 000 ha for oat+vetch mixture. In recent years, there has been an increase in oats in pure stand and a decrease in use of mixtures (Figure 5.1). This is due to a change in farmer attitude regarding the more difficult cultural practices of mixtures, reflecting non-availability of adapted and synchronized varieties; difficulties in weed control (Figure 5.2); and the high cost and the scarcity of vetch seed.

Recent statistics show that oats are the third forage crop, after lucerne (Medicago sativa) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) (Figure 5.3), but the statistics do not distinguish between barley used as green forage or harvested for grain. The latter probably dominates, since barley is used for human food and is the main concentrate in animal feed.

Main cultivars

The first varieties from Europe did poorly in Morocco. Thereafter, Grillot (1938) introduced byzantina types from Algeria, which constituted the genetic basis for the first locally selected varieties. Some of these varieties are still grown, such as cvs Roummani, Zhiliga and Tiddes, but they are now very susceptible to the common diseases and cannot cover all the potential ecological zones for oats. Locally produced oat seeds are mainly a mixture of these varieties, with some imported admixtures.

The oat breeding programme resulted in the selection of 11 cultivars, which were registered in the national catalogue - an official listing where any new crop cultivars have to be registered before they can be sold to farmers in Morocco. Some characteristics of the registered oat cultivars are summarized in Table 5.1.

Figure 5.1
Evolution over 18 years (1984/5 2002/3) in the areas sown to oats alone and to oats+vetch mixtures

Figure 5.2
A weedy oat field (in background) in Morocco

Figure 5.3
Relative importance of forage crops in Morocco.
Source: MADREF.

Moroccan seed companies currently sell most of these cultivars. INRA produces the first seed generations. In addition, other cultivars are sold by some foreign seed companies after their approval and inscription in the National cultivars catalogue, which means that these cultivars yielded more than the control in twoyear trials at a range of sites, conducted by the Official Catalogue Service (Table 5.2).

Breeding

Following independence, there was a break of nearly 20 years in the breeding programme, due to changed research priorities. In the early 1980s, INRA restarted oat selection, mainly using material from the Quaker Oats Company and USA universities (Illinois and Minnesota).

The programme aims to select cultivars (Figures 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6) adapted to three ecological areas (favourable rainfed; semi-arid; and highlands) and uses the following criteria (Al Faïz, Saïdi and Jaritz, 1997):

• high yield of either forage or grain;

• tolerance to the most important diseases of oats in Morocco: rusts, and Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV);

• resistance to lodging and shattering; and

• earliness for semi-arid areas, midearliness to late for favourable rainfed areas, and late for the mountains.

Morocco is a centre of genetic diversity of the genus Avena. According to the morphological species concept, 32 species have been recently named (Leggett, 1992), while earlier, Ladizinsky (1995) defined 13 species, using criteria for biological species. To make use of some native wild oats, particularly the tetraploids A. murphyi and A. magna, which seem to have great potential as genetic resources (protein content and disease resistance to rust, powdery mildew and BYDV), a large programme was started that aims to develop these wild Moroccan tetraploid oats as domesticated crop plants.

TABLE 5.1
Some INRA-selected oat cultivars and their agronomic characteristics

Key: Ø = diameter. (1) S = susceptible; PS = partly susceptible; R = Resistant; PR = partly resistant; T = tolerant; PT = partly tolerant. (2) Naked oats.

TABLE 5.2
Registered oat cultivars from foreign seed companies

Diseases

As in other parts of the world, oats are subject to many diseases in Morocco; the most serious are:

• Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV), particularly serious during drought;

• Crown rust, caused by Puccinia coronata f.sp. avenae; and

• a powdery mildew, caused by Erysiphe graminis, which has caused severe damage during cool and wet conditions. Less serious disease problems include:

  • Stem rust, caused by Puccinia graminis Pers. f.sp. avenae, which tends to cause damage of similar extent to crown rust;

  • Septoriosis, caused by Septoria avenae. Despite its devastating effect when reported, it is uncommon in Morocco; and

  • Helminthosporosis, caused by Helminthosporium avenae, which is present but does not occur on a serious scale.

Figure 5.4
Oat variety trial at Laradi, Morocco

Figure 5.5
Farmer variety trial with new oat varieties, Morocco

Figure 5.6
Discussing a trial on extension plots, Morocco

Oat production and animal feeding systems

At the national level, green forage yields vary from year to year. They are usually very low. Yield estimates are around 10 t ha^-1 of fresh material, which means less than 3-4 t DM ha^-1 (MADREF, 2002). Their contribution to total forage production is less than 10 percent. Experimental data show that potential yields are much higher, and some plots have reached 15 t DM ha^-1 in favourable years with some disease-resistant and productive genotypes.

Oaten hay is fed to livestock during the lean season, which starts in June and lasts until November. Oat hay forms 15-20 percent of the ration; the rest is mainly concentrates (Arbaoui, 1995). The livestock system most concerned with oat hay is semi-intensive dairying and fat cattle production, in the favourable rainfed area.

In some favourable areas (rainfall >800 mm), in the northwest of Morocco, with 15 percent of all the oat area, oats are mown or grazed green and used fresh. In most cases, farmers stop mowing in time to save late growth for haymaking. In this case, oat hay and fresh oats contribute 60 percent of the total ration (Ayadi, 1994).

Problems in oat production in Morocco

In Morocco, oats are mainly grown by stock raisers in the favourable and mountainous rainfed areas, and are usually grown for on-farm use, rarely for sale. Such farmers, who generally own 10 ha or more, grow oats in pure stand or mixed with vetch, mainly for hay, which is fed in summer, when no other forage is available. Oats are grown in rotation with wheat or food legumes. With the recent decrease in food legume area, the tendency is towards biennial rotation with wheat. However, farmers do not give oats the same attention as wheat, which is why oats in Morocco do not yield their full potential. Some major problems are summarized below.

Inappropriate cultural practices

Generally, farmers who grow forages use them in a rotation after wheat and before a food legume. Where farmers grow forages, there is little or no fallow land, since fallow used to be considered a forage resource.

Farmers use a high seed rate, generally exceeding the recommended dose, which is about 100-120 kg ha^-1; some use up to 200 kg ha^-1. This may give finer-stemmed forage but reduces tillering, increases the risk of lodging and raises costs due to the high price of seed.

Farmers sow oats late since forages are sown after what are considered important crops, such as cereals and food legumes (Vicia faba, Cicer arietinum or Lens esculentum). The consequence is reduced yield and the impossibility of using oats for both grazing in winter and hay in spring. This explains in part why oats are not grazed or cut before maturity. Late sowing makes oats less competitive with weeds, which are a great problem, because very few farmers use herbicides on forages.

Inadequate nitrogenous fertilizer

Farmers generally pay little attention to forage crops. The reasons are the high fertilizer cost and a lack of demonstrations to convince them of the benefits. Oats, like other grasses, respond positively to nitrogen. By omitting such practices, farmers do not profit fully from the oats’ potential.

Little use of certified seeds

In Morocco, seed technology is well organized. Government controls the production chain of the seed subsector, from the registration of new cultivars up to the sale of certified seed. Despite this well-established system, most farmers use uncertified seed and certified seed comprises only about 10 to 20 percent of that sown. This is mainly due to competition from the common seed trade, which seems to be more profitable. The government sets certified seed prices but the demand for oat seed exceeds supply. Seed producers, who are generally specialized seed growers, are more interested in selling their product as ordinary seed than as certified seed.

Hay

The main use of oats in Morocco is for hay (Figure 5.7). Farmers are quite well equipped with the necessary modern machinery; this consists of a disc mower and sometimes, although rarely, a flail mower, swathe-handling machinery and pick-up baler. In general oats for hay are cut at the late dough stage, and sometimes even at the beginning of grain maturity. Furthermore, the harvested crop is left in the field for a long time, exposed to high temperatures and possible spring rain. Hay thus prepared will have reduced nutritive value.

Figure 5.7
Oat hay making in Morocco

Dual-purpose oats

Oats grown primarily for hay, silage or grain could be grazed beforehand in winter, as is done in other Mediterranean countries. In Morocco, and for most of INRA’s cultivars, grazing or mowing oats at the proper growth stages does not affect the final dry matter or grain yield significantly, particularly when rainfall is adequate after grazing or mowing (Dönges-Orth, 1996). Currently, except for some limited areas in the northwest, farmers do not take advantage of this, whereas those who grow barley as forage do so widely. Barley, as a dual-purpose crop (green forage and grain) is grown in the semi-arid zone (less than 350 mm annual precipitation), and also in the mountains and a few irrigated areas. Forage barley is never made into hay. It is generally grazed or cut to feed animals in autumn and early winter

Silage

Despite their relatively low crude protein content, Koller (1996) demonstrated that INRA’s oats cultivars are well suited for silage. The small number of farmers who make silage mainly use maize and very rarely use oats. In Morocco, silage making is not well developed because of small farm size; high cost of machinery; the complicated nature of silage making; and the limited educational level of most farmers. Hay is preferred for its simplicity.

TABLE 5.3
Average DM yield of oats under different nitrogen fertilization regimes in two contrasting years (drought vs rainy) at El Koudia, Morocco

Key: (1) Nitrogen fertilizer rates in kg ha^-1.
Source: Jaritz, 1994.

Nitrogen fertilization

In Morocco, the effectiveness of nitrogen fertilization depends on the weather (Table 5.3). In drought years, nitrogen has no effect on oat yield and farmers should reduce nitrogen by at least half (Al Faïz, Saïdi and Jaritz, 1997). In rainy years, farmers should apply enough nitrogen, with split applications to avoid lodging and waste by leaching.

Furthermore, to improve the quality of oat forage (protein content), nitrogen fertilization should be increased, particularly for the late cultivars that are recommended for the favourable areas (irrigated areas and high rainfed area (>600 mm y^-1)).

Research needs

Morocco has many indigenous oat species. With recurrent drought, overgrazing, excessive use of herbicides on cereals and urbanization, many habitats of wild oats are threatened. The genetic resources reservoir should be preserved by developing either ex situ or in situ conservation. This could be achieved by developing a real gene bank and declaring threatened natural habitats as protected areas. There are many wild oat accessions, collected in the past, that have yet to be entirely evaluated for valuable traits, including biotic and abiotic stress resistance, quality, etc. Research is also needed to improve oat seed multiplication.

Participatory plant breeding

One identified need is that of development of participatory plant breeding coupled with on-farm seed production. Currently, certified oat seeds are used on less than 10-20 percent of oat-sown areas. The remaining area is sown with seed produced on-farm, called "standard seed", composed of a mixture of different varieties. In Morocco, there are no subsidies for certified seed. So developing a new concept of genetic progress diffusion on a large scale is highly desirable. In this context, participatory plant breeding could be one option to improve the genetic value of seed used on-farm, since the time needed for a new variety to reach farmers by the official route is too long (about 12 years).

Fodder oats in Tunisia

Oats (Avena spp.) are the most important livestock feed in Tunisia; they are grown over a wide range of climatic conditions ranging from the humid and subhumid climates of the northeast and northwest, to the semi-arid climate of the southwestern and north-central part of the country. The areas most suited to oat growing in the humid and subhumid climatic zones are the districts of Bizerte, Beja and Jendouba, and in the semi-arid zone, the districts of Le Kef, Siliana, Zaghouan, Mennouba, Nabeul and Ariana. Oats are a component of crop rotations in rainfed farming systems. In Tunisia, farming systems are determined mainly by environmental and soil conditions and landscape. As a result, there are wide differences in cropping patterns, farm sizes and farm livestock. There are therefore various combinations of livestock and cropping (cereal and forage). In the subhumid areas, farming systems are based on a two-year rotation: cereal+legumes (broad (faba) bean, chickpea or fenugreek (Trigonella foenumgraecum)); cereal+cereal; or cereal+forage. However, a wheat-oat-legume rotation is common. In the semi-arid areas, farming systems are based on either cereal production or livestock (particularly sheep), with a high percentage of small farms (less than 5 ha). Traditionally, the rotation is a clean or weed fallow followed by a cereal crop (wheat or barely). Crop rotation with other cereals (wheat or barely) or legumes, such as broad bean (Vicia faba L.) or chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), reduces the build up of pest populations in the soil and controls weeds. The inclusion of oats in a rotation as a control measure for soilborne diseases in wheat is a standard recommendation of the General Directorate of Agricultural Production, Ministry of Agriculture. Weed control is helped through cutting at the heading stage to make hay. Oats are used either as a fodder or as a cash crop.

Farmers who do not own livestock produce oat hay for sale; these are mainly large-scale cereal growers who already have the equipment for wheat production so have only to acquire simple haymaking and baling equipment to go into commercial haymaking. The commercial cereal growing areas are in the north of Tunisia, mostly in and around the valley of the Mejerda, and have a rainfall of between 500 and 800 mm. Rainfall and temperature data for a typical station in the cereal growing area are shown in Figure 5.8.

An efficient transport system ensures that the baled crop is moved by road to the weekly market places in different regions, from where it is transported to other regions in the centre and south. Oats, for hay, represent over 60 percent of the winter cultivated forage area. A large proportion of oat hay is produced in the northern, high-rainfall, districts and sold to livestock owners in the central and southern parts of the country. The areas sown to oats mixed with vetch, mainly Vicia sativa L., and oats alone have changed. During the past five seasons, of the 174 000 ha of oats grown, it is estimated that only 30 percent were sown as oats+vetch mixture, while 70 percent was pure oats, of which an average of 10 percent was harvested for seed (Table 5.3). Other major fodder crops grown in the country are dual-purpose barley (long-term grazing followed by harvest for grain), vetch (Vicia sativa), berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum), sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) and lucerne (Medicago sativa). For each species, a breeding programme is in progress and cultivars have been released, such as Bekra 21 for sulla (Zouaghi, pers. comm.) and Mghila for vetch (Hassen, pers. comm.). Hay yields are low, averaging 3 t ha^-1.

Figure 5.8
Average monthly precipitation and temperatures for Jendouba, Tunisia.

TABLE 5.4
Evolution of area (ha) sown to oats, vetch, triticale and fenugreek

Source: General Directorate of Agricultural Production, Ministry of Agriculture, 2001.

Oats are sown in autumn (15 October-15 November). Generally, local markets supply oat seed, including certified seed, which accounts for less than 10 percent of local production. In dry years, most oat seed is imported. For example, in 1994 and 1995, 10 958 and 10 735 tonne of seed, respectively, of cv. Mortlock were imported from Australia. Depending on seasonal conditions and forage needs, oats are fertilized with nitrogen when grown for hay. Special establishment techniques and management regimes are followed when growing oats for grain production.

Research on oats began in Tunisia in 1913, with the establishment of the Botanical Service (later becoming INRAT). Boeuf (1914) reported oat evaluation tests to determine grain and forage potential of 29 introduced lines. The first selected oat variety was described and released by the Tunisian Botanical and Agronomic Service (Seguela and Jacquard, 1953). Until recently, there were two varieties used: Creme (Avena byzantina Koch.), the red local variety, which became susceptible to lodging and crown rust; and Avon (A. sativa L.), introduced in 1962, early maturing and susceptible to the major foliar diseases.

In 1975, an oat breeding programme started at the Cereal Genetic Laboratory of INRAT, with the screening and evaluation of hundreds of lines for forage and grain under subhumid conditions. These lines were received from Dr H. Shands of the University of Wisconsin (Maamouri et al., 1988; Rondia et al., 1985). Strong selection pressure was applied for foliar disease resistance and high forage and grain yield potential. Within 10 years, 11 genotypes/lines had been selected for further evaluation for foliar disease resistance, height and maturity, and for forage and grain yield potential. These lines were: Av. 3, Av. 14, Av. 72, Av. 77, Av. 81, Av. 86, Av. 88, Av. 89, Av. 90, Av. 93, and Av. 95. However, precise information on their performance was limited. Later, another programme determined the performance of a number of commercially available cultivars, mainly from Australia. Under Tunisian conditions, cultivars including Dolphin, Swan, Bulban, Winjardie, Mortlock and Potoroo were susceptible to diseases, particularly to crown rust.

In 1990, a serious crown rust epidemic caused yield losses of around 30 percent in the widely grown Australian cv. Swan (DGPA, 1990). The same phenomenon was observed in spring 1995 on cv. Mortlock.

In 1993, oat breeding was transferred to the Forage Production Laboratory and integrated into the priority forage improvement project. An agronomic evaluation confirmed previous results on these oat lines. Based on their performance over locations and years (1994 to 1996), the better genotypes were described and registered (Chakroun and Maamouri, 1998). The best genotypes were subsequently named cv. Fretissa (Av. 3), cv. El-Alia (Av. 14), cv. Meliane (Av. 77) and cv. Mejerda (Av. 89). Nevertheless, they do not have adequate adaptation for growing in all oat areas.

The short-term breeding strategy now is to select cultivars from the Quaker International Oat Nursery (QION), which is designed to breed oats for developing countries. Ninety-five pure lines of oats obtained in 1996 from QION were evaluated in a multilocation trial. After five evaluation cycles, four lines from this material were selected on the basis of high dry matter (DM) forage yield, earliness and tolerance to the major diseases. These lines have the potential to produce high forage DM and good grain yield. Only one line (Av. 9) has been presented for registration. Recommended varieties The oat cultivars currently recommended for the subhumid region of Tunisia are Avon, Fretissa, El-Alia, Meliane and Mejerda. These have good agronomic characteristics and some resistances to foliar diseases (Tables 5.4 and 5.5).

Seed production

Limited use of new cultivars can be attributed to the lack of good extension and the failure to establish a seed multiplication strategy. In collaboration with the National Agricultural Development Organization and the National Seed Inspection Service, the Forage Production Laboratory at INRAT is engaged in the establishment of efficient oat seed production. In 1994, multiplication of four newly released oat cultivars began with four generations of commercial multiplication: Pre-basic, basic and certified first and second generation seed. This work was carried out with the Office of Livestock and Pasture at Fretissa farm, yielding over a hundred tonnes of certified oat seed. Under direct supervision of the National Seed Inspection Service, government and private seed organizations are now involved in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of good quality seed. Local seed production companies produce oat seeds in collaboration with INRAT through a formal agreement.

TABLE 5.4
Plant height, maturity, straw strength, DM yield (as a percentage of cv. Avon), grain yield and 1000-grain weight of four registered oat cultivars in Tunisia

TABLE 5.5
Disease reactions of four oat cultivars in Tunisia

Key: R = Resistant; MR = Moderately resistant; S = Susceptible.

Prospects

Oats are the major grown forage crop in Tunisia and play a key play in both productive and sustainable agricultural systems. Variety choice is one of the most important decisions that a farmer must take. Oat farmers in Tunisia often sacrifice yield when they grow cultivars relatively unadapted to their region and circumstances.

In order to improve the productivity of this forage, a three-pronged strategy is necessary. First, a national programme of oat breeding to select cultivars having good resistance to the major diseases, well adapted to the Tunisian agro-ecological conditions and with different maturities; specific emphasis must be placed on crown rust, BYDV and powdery mildew, which are the major diseases of oats in Tunisia. Second, to test, by extensive and regional variety trials, the most important forage cultivars available internationally, mainly from Spain, USA and Australia. In Tunisia, seed production depends on the amount and distribution of rain; in favourable years farmers produce over 80 percent of the required seed. In dry years, seed production is poor, necessitating imports of oat seed. In this case, Tunisian farmers will be helped to choose the more suitable oat cultivars available on the international market. The third and last component of the strategy is to give more attention to the development of improved management practices and preparation of technology transfer packages for large-scale seed multiplication.

Fodder oats in Algeria

In Algeria, oats and vetch in mixture is the most popular fodder crop. The area sown varies from year to year, but is steadily declining. In 1986, around 364 000 ha were sown for hay or green feed, but this had fallen to only 91 000 ha in 1998. The area sown for grain to be used as feed or seeds also fell, from 137 000 ha in 1986 to 58 600 ha in 1998. The reasons for this reduction are partly due to climate, with the increasing tendency to drought and warmth during winter and spring. Oats are particularly sensitive to hot, dry weather from head emergence in winter to maturity in late spring. Despite this reduction in area, oats remain the most important animal feed, with almost 70 percent of the dried forage used in the country. This crop is usually integrated in the farmer’s annual activities. However, its productivity per unit area remains low, mainly due to poor agronomic practices.

Farmers use oats in three different ways: as hay in mixture with a legume (vetch or pea); as green feed; or as grain for seed production and ruminant feed. Oats are fed as hay, silage, straw and grain, separately or with concentrate compounds. Sheep, lambs, cattle and horses are the most important livestock fed oats. No data are available about feeding oats to poultry. Oats are most often fed on the farm where they are grown, and only a little enters the marketplace. So the economics of oats and their role in livestock production need to be elucidated. Oats alone or with a legume, when conserved under good conditions, provide good quality hay with 0.7 Forage Unit per kilogram DM. However, little effort is given to management, so hay quality is poor, averaging 0.4 Forage Unit per kilogram DM (Ouknider and Jacquard, 1986). Oats are not eaten by humans in Algeria.

Mixed rainfed oats and vetch are grown in the northern region along the Mediterranean shore from Oran to Annaba. This region is characterized in normal years by areas with high precipitation receiving more than 600 mm, and another area specialized in cereal production (wheat and barley) with 350 to 500 mm (Hamrit, 1995). Sowing is normally in November and harvest for silage in April, for hay in June and for grain in July and August.

Farmers prefer to sow wheat and barley on the better land, with oats on less fertile and marginal land. Oats alone or in mixture with vetch are generally sown late, and the crops frequently remain without either fertilizer or weeding. More data about farming systems and the place of oat therein were unavailable, and information is needed on this topic. Diseases, mainly rusts, on this crop are not controlled in the subhumid and humid regions, where they have caused significant losses in some years. Limited local seed production has been another important factor affecting oat production and area extension. Because profitability in this sector, compared with other cereals, has been very low, farmers are reluctant to use tested and certified seed. Moreover, the limited number of oat cultivars available and their poor adaptation to the different agro-ecological zones, from the humid northern to the arid southern regions, militate against expansion of the crop.

Oat varieties

In Algeria, the number of oat varieties used by farmers has been very small. Besides the local landraces (Guelma 4, Rouge 31, Cowra 977, Noir 912), the predominant cultivars are Avon, from Australia and Prevision from Spain. They have performed well and are accepted by farmers. Little is known about the Algerian oat due to lack of any programme for collecting, conserving, evaluating and exploiting the local Avena genetic resources.

Ongoing research

At the Institut Technique des Grandes Cultures (ITGC), several recent studies have been undertaken to improve oat productivity. The main topics include:

• Studies on mixtures: vetch+triticale and vetch+oats were the best combinations, with high DM yield (used as hay) and with good forage quality.

• Maturity synchronization of vetch and oats to identify vetch cultivars that flower at the beginning of oat heading. The results showed coincidence for vetch cvs Valor and Languedoc.

• Seed proportion in mixtures: the best proportion was 1/3 oats and 2/3 vetch.

• Oat variety evaluation: the best oat cultivars were Lorentz, Alfred, IS4160 and 4110S.

Important themes for future activities include development of new technical practices (sowing date, sowing rate); selection of new cultivars with resistance to foliar diseases; and development of dual-purpose oats (DM yield and grain production).

Fodder oats in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is characterized by a harsh climate, which has been aggravated in recent years by a net reduction in rainfall. There are two main regions: the eastern region, where agriculture depends exclusively on rainfall, and the western region, which uses supplementary irrigation in addition to rainfall. Forage crops are sown on about 85 000 ha (Table 5.6).

TABLE 5.6
Forage crop areas in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Source: Ouchen, 1997.

Oats is the second-largest forage crop in the country, as shown in Table 5.6. Cultivated alone or in mixture with a forage legume (vetch or forage pea), it can be grazed or used as hay. It seems to be the forage crop most adapted to the climatic conditions of the country.

Oat seed production varies from 700 to 20 000 kg ha^-1, depending on rainfall. Oat seed yield is not as high as that of wheat or barley (Table 5.7), but, economically, oats seem to be the most profitable crop, as is shown in Table 5.8.

Further work should include variety selection, with emphasis on cultivars selected from Morocco and Tunisia; collection and evaluation of local oat varieties; strengthening the information system concerning all aspects of oat development; and training and technology transfer to farmers regarding oat seed production.

Conclusions

Fodder oats are an essential component of the livestock system in the Maghreb. They are well integrated into the cropping systems and will continue to be the preferred forage in most favourable areas. Current forage production from oats is far from the potential maximum. Farmers, are still using uncertified seed and do not respect the technical norms for oat production. A large extension effort is needed to demonstrate all the existing results from oat research in the Maghreb. Towards this end, an Oat and Vetch Maghreb Network has been established, with an initial focus on varietal trials. Its main objectives are to (i) strengthen Maghrebian cooperation, and (ii) transfer results of investigations on oat and vetch.

TABLE 5.7
Oat seed production yields (quintal ha^-1) of cereals in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya according to the rainfall

Source: Ouchen, 1997.

TABLE 5.8
Net benefit (dinar per ha) from cereal seed production in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Source: Ouchen, 1997.

Cereals - wheat and barley - still received most attention from policymakers, since they are the major food crops in the region. It does not help that oat is not a mandate crop for any CGIAR centre, such as CIMMYT or ICARDA, that cooperates with the Maghreb counties. Most international cooperation now places emphasis on socio-economic and environmental aspects rather than technical or scientific aspects.

Research to date has been compartmentalized, concentrating on oat variety selection and agronomy, with minimal collaboration in animal feeding work or the overall economics of integration of oats and fodder into mixed livestock-crop production systems.