Black
oats is universally the most devastating weed of cereal crops.
Although sprays have been developed to control black oats, they are
expensive and not always effective. The use of weed free ploughed
seed beds compared with minimum tillage seed beds requires a complete
economic analysis to determine the optimal bed. In some favoured
areas minimum outlays and herbicidal control of weeds gives the
farmer more flexibility however, in drier areas long fallows are
recommended as common practice. The land may be ploughed in late
winter and cultivated after each fall of rain until the wheat is sown
following winter. Not only does cultivation kill weeds, it also
conserves moisture and improves the structure of the soil.
Some
farmers lightly graze a growing wheat crop. This practice provides
fodder for livestock and holds back a crop which may be too
advanced. If crops flower and frosts are severe then serious damage
may be caused to the young wheat embryo when fertilisation has taken
place. Farmers frequently make hay from the "headlands" in
a paddock which lack uniformity in growth.