Influence of genotype and meteorological conditions on grain yield and quality of oat in Estonia

Meteorological conditions are one of the environmental factors that greatly influence the level of oat grain yield and quality. The breeding of oat cultivars well adapted to unfavourable climatic conditions gives a chance to make the oat grain yield and quality more stable. The thorough study of the influence of climatic conditions to oat characteristics plays a key role in breeding for that purpose. The objective of this research was to study the influence of genotype, meteorological conditions, and their interaction on oat grain yield and quality characteristics. Field studies were carried out at the Jõgeva Plant Breeding Institute during 1998 2002. 101 oat cultivars from Germany, Russia, Sweden, Estonia and other countries were included into this trial. Cultivars were grown in three replicated plots of 5 m², precrop was potato. The plots were sown at 500 seeds/m². The fertilizer level used was N70P16K25. Results were subjected to analysis of variance. Grain yield and quality characters such as 1000 grain weight, husk content, volume weight and protein content were evaluated. The results indicated that both genotype and meteorological conditions strongly affected oat grain yield and quality characteristics. Grain yield was most affected by the meteorological conditions that made up 60% of the variation. Both the drought and lodging lowered the oat grain yield considerably. The differences between the cultivars made up 20% of the variation of the grain yield. The influences of meteorological conditions and varietal differences to the variation of 1000 grain weight and husk content were on the same level. The 1000 grain weight decreased and husk content was high mainly in case of heavy lodging. Volume weight varied mainly (63%) due to the influence of meteorological conditions. The importance of varietal differences in the variation of this trait was small (16%). The variation of protein content was mainly (46%) dependant on varietal differences. The influence of the meteorological conditions on the variation of this trait was only 24% and the interactions of the two factors 25%. The protein content was highest in the case of drought, but remained lower in favourable growing conditions.

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