OAT BETA-GLUCANS - AN EVALUATION OF EASTERN CANADIAN CULTIVARS AND UNREGISTERED LINES

The (1-3), (1-4)-beta-D-glucan (beta-glucan) content of a number of do mestic Canadian oat cultivars and selected unregistered lines was dete rmined to establish the range of beta-glucan content in eastern Canadi an oat varieties. Seed samples were taken from oats grown at five loca tions over 3 years in an attempt to assess the effect of environment o n variation in beta-glucan content. Analysis of variance indicated tha t the greater source of variation in beta-glucan content was due to ge netic rather than environmental factors. The highest beta-glucan culti var (Marion) was about 30% higher than the lowest cultivars (OA516-2 a nd Donald). Differences in beta-glucan content among the intermediate cultivars were generally smaller, and in some cases not significant, a lthough the rank order of the cultivars among environments was consist ent. A low, but significant, negative association between beta-glucan content and precipitation, and a low, but significant, positive associ ation between beta-glucan content and temperature was found, but these were not dominant factors influencing beta-glucan levels in oats. The re was no consistent association between beta-glucan content and prote in, oil, thousand kernel weight or grain yield (kg/hectare).