Comparative study on production performance and nutritional quality of eight imported oat varieties in the Shigatse region of Tibet, China

Grassland-livestock balance is necessary for the sustainable development of Tibetan grasslands and efficient production of animal husbandry. To alleviate the enormous pressure caused by excessive grazing on natural grasslands and provide an effective way to solve the contradiction between livestock and grass availability, a the field experiment was conducted to select oat varieties that are suitable for cultivation in the Shigatse region of Tibet based on the analysis of dry weight, plant height, leaf-stem ratio, ear length, panicle weight, thousand-seed weight, and nutritional quality of the eight oat varieties; crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude ash (Ash), acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), and lignin (ADL) were also considered. The production performance results showed that the highest yield of Qingyin No.1 was 12 406.95 kg·hm^–2, the ear length of Qingyin No.3 was 25.60 cm, and the highest Qingyin No.3 was 159 cm. The nutritional quality results showed that the highest CP content was for Qingyin No. 2 and was 6.4%, the lowest ADF content was for Qingyan No. 1 and was 28.55%. The NDF content of Lean was the lowest (52%), the highest EE content was for Qingyin No. 1 and was 52.7%, the highest Ash content was for Qingyan No. 1 and was 4.97%, and the lowest ADL content was for Qingyin No. 2 and was 24.18%. According to grey relational analysis of yields and nutritional quality, it was concluded that Qingyin No. 1, Qingyin No. 3, and Qingyin No. 2 are more advantageous in the Shigatse region of Tibet, and they are suitable for planting in this region.