Reports on oats from Cyprus and on oat, straw and kyko oat plant (Avena sativa var. obtusata) are given in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute (vol. xv. 1917, pp. 308-10).
Rye
Rye has only lately been introduced by the Agricultural Department, but already its cultivation, though very small, is extending. The dark colour of the rye loaf creates some prejudice against it, but its value in cases of diabetes, a common complaint in Cyprus, is greatly in its favour.
The seed is sown and cultivated here in the same manner as wheat, but at the same time or even earlier than barley. It is harvested by being cut and is threshed on the threshing-floor. The straw is fed to animals, but when threshing machines become more general the long straw will become available for other purposes than cattle food, e.g. in the manufacture of the native saddles ("stratura"), native straw trays and native straw hats.
Rye is also grown for green food, in the same way as barley grass.
Maize (Indian Corn)
This crop was first introduced by the Agricultural Department in 1902. Its cultivation is governed by the water-supply. It is grown mostly for green food, and is met with very generally throughout the Island, being sown among the growing crops, e.g. louvi, sesame, cotton, etc., as a wind-break or to afford shade. There was a good demand for the grain for grinding during the war and the meal is found to be a useful ingredient in the ordinary loaf. The stems and leaves provide a welcome change of food for cattle when exhausted from threshing and during the dry season of the year. At the Government Farm at Athalassa the stems and leaves are made into ensilage.
Dari or Millet (Sorghum vulgare)
This crop is little grown, and is mostly found in the Messaria and also at Paleochori, almost exclusively in places irrigated by river floods. The grain is used for making flour and the fresh stalks are fed to cattle.
Fruits