Productivity of less cultivated species Avena strigosa Schreb. - black oats - and her health benefits

Abstract

Black oat grain - Avena strigosa Schreb. is on the list of 20 healthiest products. It is desirable in the diet because it has a lower proportion of carbohydrates and is rich in proteins (up to 15%, where the amino acid lysine dominates), then oils, cellulose, minerals and vitamins and can provide great health benefits. The oil content in oat seeds reaches up to 10%, depending on the location and tested year. The following fatty acids dominate in the seed: linoleic (45%), oleic (30%), palmitic (20%), stearic (6%), linoleic (6%) and myristic (4%) acids. Black oats are also a forage crop used for cover cropping, weed control and nematode control. Allelopathic compounds released through the oats roots inhibit weed growth. It produces a large amount of biomass that decomposes quickly, and returns valuable nutrients and organic particles back to the soil. Although the grain of black oats has excellent nutritional value, this species is less cultivated in the world and in our country. This study aims to test black oats and examine its morphological and productive properties at the Bački Petrovac location. An experiment with two populations: G1- black oats - "crni" and G2- "rutavi" oat, was set up in three repetitions on the plots of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Bački Petrovac, in 2023. Sowing was done in April and harvesting was done at the technological maturity of the crop, when plants from each repetition were taken for analysis: plant height, plant height to panicle, root length, plant weight, grain weight and number of grains per plant. Genotype had a significant effect on grain yield per plant and yield components. G2 - "Rutavi" oats had statistically significantly higher values for plant height (145 cm) and plant height to panicle (125 cm) compared to G1- black oats (108 cm and 90 cm). Black oats had higher values for root length (8), plant weight (9 g), grain weight (3 g) and number of grains (95) compared to G2 (6; 5 g; 1.2 g; 65). The results show that black oats can be successfully grown in Bačka region in Vojvodina. Eating oats helps prevent some diseases: digestion, insomnia, anxiety, depression, nervousness, hoarseness, arteriosclerosis, dermatitis and some forms of cancer, lowers cholesterol, blood sugar and high blood pressure.