Comparison of production performance and nutritional value of 16 oat varieties in Yellow River Beach area

The objective of this study was to explore the production performance and nutritional quality of 16 oat varieties planted in spring in the Yellow River Beach area using a complete random block design. The comprehensive evaluation was carried out using the grey correlation analysis to select oat varieties with high yield and superior quality that are suitable for popularizing the area. The test results were as follows: 1) There were significant differences in plant height (%), effective tiller number, hay yield, fresh/dry ratio, grain yield, and stem/leaf ratio among the different oat varieties (P < 0.05). The plant height, tiller number, and hay yield of Helios were the highest at 111.7 cm, 4.38 per plant, and 11.79 t·hm^–2, respectively. The fresh/dry ratio of Baler Ⅱ was the lowest. The effective tiller number of ESK was the highest while its stem /leaf ratio was the lowest (0.69). 2) There were significant differences in crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and ether extract among the different oat varieties (P < 0.05). The crude protein of Sweety was the highest (17.33%). The Helios and Jiayan2 varieties had the lowest content of neutral and acid detergent fiber (35.80% and 27.22%, respectively). The ether extract content of ESK was the highest (9.94%). The result of the grey correlation comprehensive analysis showed that ESK, Baler, Hewang, Helios and Sweety showed excellent performance and were suitable for popularizing and planting in the Yellow River Beach area of Henan Province.