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Breeding, Genomics and Agronomy Research to Improve Oat Yield and Quality

Oat is an important, multi-purpose cereal in Canada that is grown for grain, straw, forage, or land cover. Oat grain is regarded as a healthy human food, largely due to the presence of betaglucan (BGL) and other soluble fibers in the oat groat, which have been implicated in reduced risk of heart disease, lowered blood pressure, and lowered risk of type-II diabetes. Grain yield, groat content (i.e., milling yield), and BGL content are key targets for improvement. Protein, test weight, and kernel weight are considered secondary targets for improvement. Additionally, oat millers require a groat oil content of less than 8% to meet the FDA healthy food labeling requirements. To achieve high and stable yield and quality, lodging resistance is required under high-yielding environments, and resistance to crown rust is required in some production regions.

 

Project Details

  • Listing ID: 3707
  • Project Status Completed
  • Principal Investigators Dr. Weikai Yan and Nick Tinker, AAFC Ottawa
  • Projects With Results Projects with Results
  • Project Dates April 2018 – March 2023
  • Abstract/Summary There are six objectives in this project and POGA is helping fund objectives two to six:

    2) identifying optimal agronomic practices to achieve high and stable grain yield and quality, (yes just had condensed the list to save room)

    3) enhancing the current oat breeding procedures in both the Ottawa and Brandon programs with genomic selection,

    4) improving the ability to deploy appropriate rust resistance genes through a survey of Pc gene profiles in existing cultivars, and Pc gene effectiveness in western and eastern Canada,

    5) enhancing genetic diversity in North American oat breeding programs through a joint testing and genotyping network that promotes germplasm exchange and provides information about adaptation,

    6) developing a multi-faceted approach to data and knowledge management that enhances all objectives of this project and benefits world-wide pre-competitive oat research.