EFFECTS OF ECOLOGICAL AND CROPPING FACTOR S ON BETA-GLUCAN CONTENT INOATS

Exact field trials were carried out mostly with registered oat genotyp es at Bystrice nad Pernstejnem and Krukanice in 1993. Effects of the l ocation, genotype and nitrogen fertilization on the content of water-s oluble beta-glucans in grain dry matter were investigated. It was dete rmined on the basis of increasing calcofluor fluorescence emission (Si gma-Aldrich, USA) caused by binding this dye to beta-glucans. A method of flow injection analysis as modified by Jorgensen (1988) using a de vice of his own construction was used. Barley beta-glucans were used a s a standard. Results were expressed in percentage. Experimental data were processed by analysis of variance using STATGRAPHICS program. Res ults of the trial are summarized in Tab. II. At significance level of P = 0.05, beta-glucan content in oat grain was the most affected by th e genotype and then by the location. Effects of fertilization were not significant. Furthermore, Tab. II suggests highly significant (P = 0. 05) interactions, such as genotype x location and genotype x fertiliza tion, where the genotype x location interaction shows a higher proport ion as determined by F-ratio. Statistical results obtained by analysis of variance are presented in greater detail in Tabs. III to V. Tab. I II evaluates effects of the genotype on beta-glucan content in oat gra in. On the average of two locations, the highest content of beta-gluca n was determined in the genotype Adam (3.0%) which significantly diffe red from the other genotypes studied. The genotype Zlatak and line KR 9506 showed tile lowest average beta-glucan contents both being 1.9%. The other genotypes can be divided into two groups between which is a significant difference. The first group includes genotypes David, Auro n and Ardo. The last one is a transition to the other group which cons ists of Abel and Flamingsnova. Effects of fertilization variants on be ta-glucan content is given in Tab. V. The difference between the avera ge beta-glucan content in oat grain in all of investigated genotypes i n the variant with the highest effect, i.e. N-a and N-bl and the varia nt with the lowest effect, N-0, was 0.2% only. That corresponds with t he results in Tab. II which showed insignificant effects of the fertil ization variant on beta-glucan content in oat grain. The other fertili zation variants, N-c and N-b, were transitional ones and did not show significant influence. The last factor which can affect beta-glucan co ntent in oat grain was the location. Tab. VI shows highly significant difference in the average beta-glucan content of all genotypes studied at two locations. The effect of the location on the average beta-gluc an content in grain of eight genotypes is illustrated in Fig.2. Six ge notypes (Abel, Ardo, Auron, David, Zlatak and KR 9046) had average bet a-glucan contents higher at Bystrice nad Pernstejnem. The highest diff erence as compared to the location Krukanice was found in the genotype s Ardo and Auron. In contrast, Adam and Flamingsnova reached the highe st beta-glucan content in grain at the location Krukanice. Among all g enotypes, the genotype Adam showed the highest difference (1%). With r egard to highly significant differences in beta-glucan content in grai n of grown genotypes at both locations, it is necessary to study this character under different soil and climatic conditions, and then to el aborate variety zoning.