Five varieties made their way onto the spring oats recommended list for the 2019 season. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine published the lists last week.

The area of winter oats increased by 1,900ha to 12,000ha for the 2019 season and seed is expected to be in demand for the spring crop as a result.

Barra makes the grade for its 34th year in a row. It’s joined by Husky and Keely on the recommended list, while Delfin and WPB Isabel are provisionally recommended for the first time. Binary exited the list this year.

Delfin has a very impressive score of 117 for relative yield. 23 points ahead of the stalwart Barra and six points ahead of WPB Isabel which places second on the list for relative yield.

Limited data is available on the provisionally recommended varieties for straw characteristics and disease resistance, but so far WPB Isabel is ahead of the game on resistance to lodging and straw breakdown – scoring an 8 for both, despite being the tallest among the varieties.

Of the recommended varieties Husky came out on top for straw characteristics, as well as earliness of ripening (8).

Delfin rated best for resistance to mildew at a score of 8, while WPB Isabel topped the resistance rating for crown rust at a rating of 6.

The provisionally recommended varieties also stood out on grain quality. Delfin had a thousand grain weight (TGW) of 45.3g, while WPB Isabel had a KPH of 56.2 and kernel content hit 75.3%. To view the full list click here