Productive performance comparison of different oat varieties in Yangzhou region

The aim of this study was to screen out the best oat varieties suitable for planting in the Yangzhou region. To comprehensively investigate the production performance, eight different varieties of oats were used as experimental materials. The results showed that all the oat varieties reached the heading stage during mid-April, but there were some differences among some indexes (phenology, agronomic traits, yield, and quality of forage) of different varieties of oats. At harvest stage, plant height and hay yield of Qiangshou were the highest in the experimental group. Fresh grass production of Baler, crude protein content of Xiaoma, and ether extract content of Rinne were also the highest at harvest stage. However, the differences in ether extract content among the oat varieties were highly significant. The current domestic protein yield is used as an evaluation index for the performance of herbage. The protein yield of oatmeal was 810.94 kg·ha-1, which was the highest among the tested varieties. Therefore, in terms of growth period and protein yield, Rinne has more potential for utilization in the winter fallow fields in the Yangzhou region.