From Field To Flakes

Written by:

Daniela Carrijo - Assistant Professor of Grain Crop Production, Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University

Nataliia Voloshchuk- Postdoctoral Scholar in Food Science, Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University

Josephine Wee- Associate Professor of Food Science, Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University

Oat acreage in Pennsylvania has been on a downward trend for several decades as more acres are devoted to corn and soybeans. However, with the recent rising interest in alternative food grains, especially emerging markets like gluten-free, oats might make a comeback. To address this emerging market, we started a PDA-funded research project in 2024 to evaluate the performance of spring oat varieties in Pennsylvania. We sourced 18 varieties from western United States and Canada, and conducted a field trial on certified organic acres at the Penn State Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, near Rock Springs, PA.

We were interested in how different varieties impacted plant and grain characteristics. Grain yield ranged from 40 to 105 bushels per acre depending on the variety. The top three yielding varieties included Blazer, SD Buffalo, and SD Momentum, all of which yielded significantly higher than Jerry, a popular variety in Pennsylvania. Hulless oat varieties, which are desirable for food, generally yielded lower than hulled ones, with Streaker being the highest yielder among the hulless varieties. The main drivers of yield differences between varieties in this study were susceptibility to foliar diseases (especially leaf rust) and plant height, likely a proxy for weed suppression.

Overall, from an agronomic perspective, these results suggest a large genetic basis among modern spring oat varieties and highlight that variety selection is key to achieving high yields. We were also interested in food-relevant quality and safety parameters of grains and selected four oat varieties, Blazer, Gehl, Hayden, and Steuben. Gehl and Blazer produced grains with higher protein levels (15-18% dry weight), while Hayden and Steuben were notable for higher fiber levels (13-15% dry weight).

All four varieties studied resulted in non-detectable levels of 18 tested mycotoxins. However, HT-2 toxin, a form of trichothecene mycotoxin produced by the fungi, Fusarium spp., was detected in Blazer, Hayden, and Steuben (levels ranging from 12-21 ppb) but not in Gehl. While genetic diversity of oats can differentially affect nutritional quality and safety, we hope to understand how oat physiology (hulled v. hulless) and growing season across multiple years impact agronomic performance as well as quality and safety of final grains.

In conclusion, several oat varieties currently available on the market can perform well under organic farming conditions and meet the safety and quality standards required for organic food and feed products. We hope that these findings are a first step to help boost market opportunities for Pennsylvania farmers to be a national leader in organic oat production. We sincerely acknowledge the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and the PA Preferred Organic Initiative, for supporting this research.

• First Image- Penn State organic oats trial field. Credit: Larissa Correia
• Second Image- Close-up of the Penn State organic oats trial field. Credit: Larissa Correia