136 Genotype and environment effects associated with oat quality characteristics.

C. RHYMER (1), N. Ames (2), L. Malcolmson (3), and S. Duguid (2). (1) Department of Foods and Nutrition, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2; (2) Cereal Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2M9; (3) Canadian International Grains Institute, Winnipeg, MB R3C 3G7.

Competitiveness of Canadian oats in domestic and international markets requires continued improvement of oat cultivars to meet the changing needs of the agricultural and food industry. For example, beta glucan content affects the potential nutritional value, which is of increasing importance to consumers. Millers have identified several groat characteristics, such as percent hull and groat breakage, as important to processing quality. Food manufactures are interested in starch properties as they relate to the functionality of oats as ingredients. Development of oat cultivars to meet specific quality criteria requires an understanding of how these characteristics vary with genotype and environment. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interaction on quality characteristics of oat cultivars grown in Western Canada. Five oat cultivars and breeding lines were grown in replicated field trials at four locations in Manitoba. Oat characteristics of yield, test weight, hull percent, groat breakage, hull and groat color, and groat protein and beta glucan contents were measured. Starch was extracted and evaluated for amylase/amylopectin ratio, gel strength, and pasting and thermal properties. Genotype and environmental differences in oat characteristics were observed.