Where is the origin of oats? A detailed explanation of the latest distribution of producing regions
Oats are an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Avena in the grass family Poaceae. The grain is used for grinding into flour or as feed, and its nutritional value is very high. Among the 9 food grains commonly eaten by Chinese people, such as wheat, rice and corn, oats have the highest economic value, mainly reflected in nutrition, medical health care and feed value. Let us take a look below at where the origin of oats is!
Where is the origin of oats?
Oats are a crop cultivated worldwide, distributed across 42 countries on five continents, but the concentrated producing regions are in the temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere. In China, they are mostly cultivated in Northeast China, North China, Northwest China, Southwest China, as well as Guangdong, Guangxi, Central China and other provinces and regions, and are mainly planted in Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Gansu, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Ningxia, Guizhou, Qinghai and other places, among which the planting area of the first 4 provinces and regions accounts for about 90% of the national total area.
The producing environment of oats
1. Temperature: Oats prefer cool conditions but are not cold-tolerant. The northern part of the temperate zone is most suitable for planting. The seeds can germinate at 2-4°C, and the seedlings can endure low-temperature environments of -2 to -4°C, making them the most cold-tolerant among wheat crops. In northern and northwestern China, where winters are cold, sowing can only be done in spring, while in more southern areas autumn sowing is possible, but the crop must mature before the arrival of high summer temperatures.
2. Water: Oats grow in cold alpine desert regions, but when the seeds germinate they require about 65% of their own weight in water. Their transpiration coefficient is higher than that of barley and wheat, and they also consume relatively more water. If water is insufficient during the growth period, the grains often fail to fill out and yields decrease. Therefore, the roots and stems of oats are often about one meter long, so as to absorb more water.
3. Soil: Under good cultivation conditions, oats can achieve good harvests on soils of various textures, but moist soil rich in humus is best. Their adaptability to acidic soil is stronger than that of other wheat crops, but they are not suitable for cultivation in saline-alkali soil.
Variety classification of oats
1. Avena clauda: Avena clauda is an annual plant of the grass family Poaceae. Its fibrous roots are slender and weak, the culms are erect, a few are clustered, the leaf sheaths are loose, the ligule is membranous with a blunt tip, the leaf blades are flat, rough on the upper side, sparsely pubescent on the lower side, the panicle is loose and spreading, the spikelets are lanceolate and contain 2-3 florets, the glumes are membranous, the lemma is hard in texture, the palea is shorter than the lemma, smooth and hairless, with 2 keels. It has been introduced and cultivated in China, and is distributed in Europe and central Asia.
2. Avena abyssinica: Avena abyssinica is an annual plant of the genus Avena in the grass family Poaceae. The culms are stout, erect, smooth and hairless, 30-100 cm tall, the ligule is membranous, 1-2 mm long, the leaf blades are flat, up to 5 mm wide, hairless, rough on the upper side. It has mainly been introduced and cultivated in the Nanjing Zhongshan Botanical Garden in China, and is distributed in southern Soviet Union in Europe, northwestern India and southern Africa.
3. Avena longiglumis: Avena longiglumis is an annual plant of the genus Avena in the grass family Poaceae. The culms are erect, smooth and hairless, 50-100 cm tall, 3-5 mm in diameter. The leaf sheaths are loose, smooth and hairless, or the lower ones are pubescent, often longer than the internodes, the ligule is membranous, the leaf blades are flat, smooth or rough on the lower side, sparsely pubescent on the upper side. The panicle is large, the spikelets contain 2-3 florets, and those at the lower part of the panicle often have 2 florets. It has been introduced and cultivated in Yunnan, China, and is distributed in Europe and central Asia to northwestern India.
4. Avena meridionalis: Avena meridionalis is an annual plant of the genus Avena in the grass family Poaceae. Its fibrous roots are stout and tough, sometimes with sand sheaths, the culms are erect or slightly curved at the nodes, hairless or rarely hairy at the nodes, the leaf sheaths are loose, smooth or rough, the ligule is membranous, the panicle is loose and spreading, the branches are slender. The ovary is densely pubescent, and the flowering and fruiting period is June to September. It is produced in Xinjiang (Bokda Mountain), and is distributed in central Asia, Afghanistan, eastern Africa all the way to the Americas.
5. Naked oat: Naked oat, also known as oil oat, is an annual plant of the genus Avena in the grass family Poaceae, an oat variety originating in China. The culms are clustered, the basal leaf sheaths are longer than the internodes and often slightly pubescent, the leaf blades are soft in texture, the panicle is spreading, the branches are slender and spiny-rough, the spikelets have a tough, hairless, curved rachilla, the glumes are nearly equal, the lemma is leathery and relatively soft, the callus is hairless, erect or recurved, with an awned tip at the apex, separate from the palea, and the flowering and fruiting period is June to August. It is cultivated in Northwest China, Southwest China, North China, Hubei and other provinces and regions of China.
6. Wild oat: Wild oat is widely distributed in the provinces of northern and southern China, growing in deserted fields or as a field weed. It is also distributed in the temperate and cold zones of Europe, Asia and Africa, and has also been introduced to North America, where the Indigenous peoples used its seeds for food. In addition to being a substitute for grain and green feed for cattle and horses, wild oat is often a weed in wheat fields. It consumes more than double the water of wheat, and at the same time a large number of its seeds are mixed into wheat grains, reducing the quality of wheat. It is also a raw material for papermaking and a host of wheat yellow dwarf disease.
7. Avena fatua var. glabrata: Avena fatua var. glabrata has a smooth, hairless lemma, and the spikelets are relatively large, 18-25 mm long. The rachilla internodes are densely covered with light brown or white stiff hairs. Its flowering and fruiting period and uses are similar to those of the original variety. It is produced in the provinces of northern and southern China, growing in mountain slopes and grasslands, roadsides and farmland (at altitudes up to 4000 m), and is distributed in Europe, warm Asia and North Africa.
8. Avena fatua var. glabrata (smooth-rachilla wild oat): Avena fatua var. glabrata is produced in Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Guangdong and other provinces, growing in farmland or roadsides. The lemma is smooth and hairless, and the rachilla internodes are smooth and hairless or slightly covered with appressed pubescence. The spikelets are often relatively small, about 17 mm long, and the rachilla internodes are smooth and hairless or slightly covered with appressed pubescence.