Association between groat protein percentage and certain plant and seed traits in interspecific oat crosses

Summary Ten interspecific crosses of Avena sativa L. x A. sterilis L. were used to study associations of groat protein percentage with selected seed and agronomic traits. Each cross was grown in a replicated experiment, and the genetic material consisted of parents and F₂-derived lines grown in the F₄ generation.No close associations were found between groat protein percentage and plant height, heading date, or 10-groat weight. Individual crosses did show significant correlations, but none of the 3 traits was sufficiently associated with groat protein generally so as to be beneficial or inhibitory to combining high groat-protein percentage with the maturity, plant height, and 10-groat weight appropriate for good agronomic cultivars of oats.High groat-protein percentage was closely associated with abscission spikelet separation and jointed awn, both of which are A. sterilis traits. Shattering and dark seed color (A. sterilis traits) were also associated with high groat protein percentage, but kernel pubescence was not. Only a few segregates within each cross were A. sativa type for all 5 of the seed traits, but when A. sativa types from all crosses were grouped together, there was a large range for groat-protein percentages.Journal Paper No J-6950 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Project 1752. In cooperation with the Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Carried out with a grant from the Quaker Oat Co., Chicago, Illinois, USA.