Morton

Oat

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'HiFi'

Summary: Morton' has a slightly longer, wider flag leaf than 'HiFi'. 'Morton' heads earlier than 'HiFi'. The plant height of 'Morton' is taller than 'HiFi'. 'Morton' has a longer panicle than 'HiFi'. 'Morton' has a stronger tendency for the lemma to be awned than 'HiFi'. The scutellum of 'Morton' is smaller than in 'HiFi'. 'Morton' has a rounded shaped tip of the scutellum while it is pointed in 'HiFi'.

Description:

PLANT: spring type, semi-erect juvenile growth habit at the 5-9 tiller stage, absent to very sparse pubescence of the lower leaf sheath and leaf blade
STEM: medium thickness, absent to very sparse pubescence of the upper culm node, yellow colour at maturity

LEAF: dark green, very sparse to sparse pubescence of the margin, medium glaucosity
FLAG LEAF: medium to high frequency of recurving/drooping

PANICLE: equilateral orientation, medium density, semi-erect branch attitude, 30-45 degree angle between rachis and dominant side branch, lowest panicle node has a few number of short hairs or spines
SPIKELET: semi-abscission seperation, nodding attitude
RACHILLA: long length between primary and secondary floret, short grooves, sparse pubescence
GLUME: medium glaucosity
LEMMA: yellow at maturity, sparse pubescence on lateral and dorsal surface, medium glaucosity, small lateral overlap on palea, strong tendancy to be awned

KERNEL: basal hairs present, white, two per spikelet, rounded tip of the scutellum, small scutellum, moderate groat pubescence

AGRONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: fair to good lodging resistance, good shattering resistance

Origin & Breeding History: 'Morton', whose experimental designation is 'ND941119', was developed using the modified single seed descent and pedigree methods, with its final cross occurring in 1990 at the North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA. 'Morton' is the result of the cross ND880922 / IA B605X, where IA B605X is a breeding line from Iowa State University that is a heterogenous bulk that was mass selected from crosses involving the multilines 'E70' and 'M70'. ND880922 = ND830775/'Riel', where ND830775 = RPB120-73/RL3038//Noble/3/'Otter'/'Diana'/RL3038/'Dal'. RPB120-783 is a breeding line of unknown parentage from David Thompson of Rothwell Plant Breeders, J. Nickerson Research Centre, Rothwell, Lincoln, England, and RL3038 is a breeding line which has a complex pedigree that includes 'Rodney' and 'Pendek' and possesses genes Pc-38, Pc-39, Pg-2 and Pg-13 received from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Selection criteria in the F1 to F4 generations were for rust resistance, in the F4 to F10 generations for rust resistance under greenhouse conditions, yield and other agronomic characteristics. 'Morton' was evaluated in yield trials in 1995 and 1996, the Tri-State Oat Nursery replicated Trials in 1997, and the North Dakota Oat Variety Trials from 1998-2001.

Tests & Trials: Conducted in Pilot Mound, Manitoba during the summer of 2006. Plots consisted of side by side field trials of 24 hectares each of 'Morton' and 'Hi-Fi'. Results were supported by the official technical examination report PVPO number 200300192 purchased from the Plant Variety Protection office in the USA.

Comparison tables for 'Morton' with reference variety 'HiFi'

Flag leaf length (cm)

Flag Leaf width (mm)

Days to heading (count)

Plant height (cm)

Panicle length (cm)

Click on image for larger view

Oat: 'Morton' (left) with reference variety 'HiFi' (right)