Comparative analysis of yield and quality of 19 forage oat varieties in winter fallow in the Wumeng Mountain Area

To solve the problems of idle land and the low land use rate in winter fallow fields in the Wumeng Mountain area of China, 19 oat varieties (Avena sativa) were used as research objects to conduct detailed evaluation tests on production performance and the nutritional quality of varieties. Through detailed evaluation of the grey correlation degree, high quality oat varieties suitable for promotion and planting in winter fallow fields in the Wumeng Mountain area were selected. The results showed that in the relative drought years, the top three hay grass yield of the 19 oat varieties was ‘Jialilüe’, ‘Qingyin No. 1’ and ‘Qinghai 444’, with 15 941.55, 15 744.67 and 13 831.14 kg·ha⁻¹, respectively. In terms of nutritional quality, among the 19 oat varieties, the top varieties for crude protein content were ‘Baler Ⅱ’ and ‘Qingyin No. 1’. Neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were at low levels, and neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were at a low level. The varieties found to have better relative feed value were ‘Baler Ⅱ’, ‘Baler’, ‘Lena’, and ‘Qingyin No. 1’, respectively, after applying gray correlation. The detailed evaluation results showed that ‘Qingyin No. 1’, ‘Jialilüe’, and ‘Qinghai 444’, with high weighted correlation ranking and high overall production performance, could be planted as the main varieties in winter fields in the Wumeng Mountains.