La Co-op Fédérée oat variety evaluation
LaCoop Fédérée, Christain Azar, Agr. M. Sc. Plant Breeder
To determine yield potential of 28 oat varieties in Manitoba.
2019 results and recommendations will be made available when the trial is finalized.
Oats are adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions such as low rainfall regions, infertile and somewhat saline soils (Liu et al. 2011). The crop is considered to be of high nutritional value and can be used as both food for human consumption and livestock feed in the form of grain or forage. A major component of oats is β-glucans, a soluble fibre, which plays a significant role of lowering cholesterol levels in humans (White, 2000). An increase in the world’s populations means more demand for food, feed and fibre, which in turn calls for availability of higher yielding varieties to meet the demand. Furthermore, the change in climate also requires availability of varieties that are well adapted to these conditions. Selection of varieties with high plasticity would help improve yield and adaptation to different environments which can help producers in making decisions (Sadras et al., 2017).