Abstract
Water requirement and water economy of varieties were studied accurately by water culture, in the years 1955 and 1956.The resutts of these experiments are summarized below : - 1. The total amount of water absorbed by each of the 9 varietieS was determined at different growing stages. There was a considerable annual variation in water absorption among the varieties tested between 1955 and 1956. 2. The water economy of each variety was calculated, by diviving the total amount of water absorbed by the amount of dry weight procluced. The order of varieties determined by the value of water economy did not coinside with that of calculated by the total amount of water absorbed. 3. As a whole these oat varineties may be classified Into several groups in accordance with the values of their water economy. By using Trukey's procedure, the varieties were statistically classified into four groups according to their respective water economies. The first group is higher in water economy, including two vanetres and the fourth group lower, inclucllng a single vanety 4. Correlation coefflcients between the total amounts of water absorbed and some characteristics, were calculated. Correlation coefficients between total amnount of water absorbed and forms of juvenile plant growth habits are significant. Number of tillers is positively correlated with water requirement, though it was not statistically significant. Thus it may be concluded that the varieties with more tillers and of prostrate type tend to absorb more water than those with fewer tillers ancl of erect type.
