NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

June 24, 1999

NDSU Releases Two Spring Oat Varieties

The North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station has released two new spring oat varieties, Ebeltoft and Youngs. Seed sales of both varieties will be subject to the Plant Variety Protection Act without the Title V option.

Ebeltoft and Youngs will likely replace acreage of Whitestone, Otanna and Jud in North Dakota, says Al Schneiter, chair of the Department of Plant Sciences at NDSU. Assuming that the state's oat producers planted Ebeltoft and Youngs on 50 percent of the acreage they currently devote to those three older varieties, their annual income, based on current oat prices, would grow by $1.8 million. Schneiter says this increase would be due solely to the comparative yield advantages of Ebeltoft and Youngs.

Plant and cereal scientists from NDSU, its research extension centers and the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Fargo were involved in the agronomic and quality evaluations for both Ebeltoft and Youngs, says Mike McMullen, NDSU's oat breeder.

Named for Dave Ebeltoft, former NDSU oat breeder and director of the NDSU Foundation Seed Stocks Project, this variety is derived from a cross between an experimental line from the NDSU oat breeding program and an experimental line from New Zealand, McMullen says. Based on three years of evaluations at nine locations in North Dakota, Ebeltoft produced higher average yields than any other named variety.

Ebeltoft heads about six days later than Jerry and is about 2 inches shorter, but its straw is stronger than Jerry's. Ebeltoft's groat percentage is about equal to Jerry's, but its protein level is slightly less than Jerry's. Ebeltoft has moderate crown rust resistance and is resistant to the prevalent races of stem rust.

The namesake for Youngs is Vernon Youngs, the first director of the USDA Oat Quality Lab at Madison, Wis. Youngs later became director of the USDA Wheat Quality Lab at Fargo, Schneiter says.

The variety Youngs is the result of a cross between two NDSU experimental lines, McMullen says. Based on four years of evaluations at nine North Dakota locations, Youngs produced higher yields than any other named variety and test weights roughly equal to Troy. In a regional trial lasting two years outside of North Dakota, Youngs produced a higher grain yield than any other entry.

The protein content of Youngs is similar to that of most other oat varieties, McMullen says. Youngs matures about 5.5 days later than Jerry and is about 2 inches taller. This new variety has good straw strength.

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Sources: Al Schneiter (701) 231-8137 and Mike McMullen (701) 231-8165

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136