{{short description|Cereal grass and grain}} {{good article}} {{About|the common cereal}} {{Redirect|Oats|other cultivated and wild species of the genus|Avena}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use British English|date=March 2026}} {{Speciesbox | image = AvenaSativa3.jpg | image_alt = Oat plants with inflorescences | genus = Avena | species = sativa | authority = L. (1753) }} The '''oat''' ('''''Avena sativa'''''), sometimes called the '''common oat''', is a species of cereal grass<!--not linked for SEAOFBLUE--> (''Avena'') grown for fodder and for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seeds resembled those of other cereals closely enough for them to be included by early cultivators. Oats tolerate cold winters less well than cereals such as wheat, barley, and rye, but need less summer heat and more rain, making them important in areas such as Northwest Europe that have cool, wet summers. They can tolerate low-nutrient and acid soils. Oats grow thickly and vigorously, allowing them to outcompete many weeds, and compared to other cereals are relatively free from diseases.
Oats are used for human consumption as oatmeal, including as steel cut oats or rolled oats. Global production is dominated by Canada and Russia; global trade is a small part of production, most of the grain being consumed within the producing countries. Oats are a nutrient-rich food associated with lower blood cholesterol and reduced risk of human heart disease when consumed regularly. One of the most common uses of oats is as livestock feed; the crop can also be grown as groundcover and ploughed in as a green manure.
== Description ==
The oat is a tall stout grass, a member of the family Poaceae; it can grow to a height of {{convert|1.8|m|ft}}. The leaves are long, narrow, and pointed, and grow upwards; they can be some {{convert|15|to|40|cm|in}} in length, and around {{convert|5|to|15|mm|in}} in width. Leaf blades emerge first from nodes in the stalk, then the sheath. New leaves grow upwards on nodes further from the ground, leaves on the old nodes gradually brown and wilt.<ref name="OSaT"/>{{rp|55-56}} Roots are fibrous, mostly in the uppermost {{convert|0.3|m|ft}} of the soil (though some may penetrate as deep as {{convert|1.5|m|ft}}, and develop from a crown at the soil surface. When seeds are dense, they make only one or two hollow stems (culms), but when spaced out may make 10 to 30 culms.<ref name="McGraw-Hill Encyc 2012">{{cite book |title=McGraw-Hill encyclopedia of science & technology |date=2012 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-179273-8 |edition=11th |location=New York, NY |pages=264-268}}</ref>
At the top of the stem, the plant branches into a loose cluster or panicle of about 10-75 spikelets. While they tend to self pollinate, 1-2% may outcross. There are 7-9 nodes, with one leaf at each node and hollow internodes.<ref name="McGraw-Hill Encyc 2012"/> These contain the wind-pollinated flowers, which mature into the oat seeds or grains.<ref name="OSaT">{{cite book |last1=Kaufman |first1=P.B. |last2=Brock |first2=T.G. |chapter-url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19980024230/downloads/19980024230.pdf |chapter=Structural development of the oat plant |year=1992 |editor1-last=Marshall |editor1-first=H.G. |editor2-last=Sorrells |editor2-first=M.E. |title=Oat Science and Technology |publisher=American Society of Agronomy|location=Madison, Wisconsin, USA |pages=53–75 }}</ref>{{rp|69-71}}<ref name="RBGKew">{{cite web |title=''Avena sativa'': Common oat |url=https://www.kew.org/plants/common-oat |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Kew |access-date=2 May 2024 }}</ref> Botanically the grain is a caryopsis, as the wall of the fruit is fused on to the actual seed. Like other cereal grains, the caryopsis contains the outer husk or bran, the starchy food store or endosperm which occupies most of the seed, and the protein-rich germ which if planted in soil can grow into a new plant.<ref name="Arendt-2013">{{cite book |last1=Arendt |first1=Elke K. |last2=Zannini |first2=Emanuele |title=Cereal Grains for the Food and Beverage Industries |chapter=Oats |publisher=Elsevier |date=2013 |isbn=978-0-85709-413-1 |pages=243–283 }}</ref>
<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:Avena-sativa.jpg|Oat spikelets, containing the small wind-pollinated flowers File:Avena sativa MHNT.BOT.2015.2.33.jpg|Panicle with spikelets containing seeds File:Memoir (18277049629) (cropped).jpg|1 ''A. sterilis'', 2 ''A. sativa'', spikelet and base of outer grain of both cultivated species </gallery>
== Origins ==
=== Phylogeny ===
thumb|upright=2|Oat ancestry, showing how hexaploid species including the common oat ''Avena sativa'' derive from diploid and tetraploid species
Phylogenetic analysis using molecular DNA and morphological evidence places the oat genus ''Avena'' in the Pooideae subfamily. That subfamily includes the cereals wheat<!--wl 1st inst. in main text-->, barley, and rye; they are in the Triticeae tribe, while ''Avena'' is in the Poeae, along with grasses such as ''Briza'' and ''Agrostis''.<ref name="Soreng-2017">{{cite journal |last1=Soreng |first1=Robert J. |last2=Peterson |first2=Paul M. |last3=Romaschenko |first3=Konstantin |last4=Davidse |first4=Gerrit |last5=Teisher |first5=Jordan K. |last6=Clark |first6=Lynn G. |last7=Barberá |first7=Patricia |last8=Gillespie |first8=Lynn J. |last9=Zuloaga |first9=Fernando O. |display-authors=6 |title=A worldwide phylogenetic classification of the Poaceae (Gramineae) II: An update and a comparison of two 2015 classifications |journal=Journal of Systematics and Evolution |volume=55 |issue=4 |date=2017 |doi=10.1111/jse.12262 |pages=259–290 |bibcode=2017JSyEv..55..259S |hdl=10261/240149 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The wild ancestor of ''Avena sativa'' and the closely related minor crop – ''A. byzantina'' – is ''A. sterilis'', a naturally hexaploid wild oat, one that has its DNA in six sets of chromosomes. Genetic evidence shows that the ancestral forms of ''A. sterilis'' grew in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East.<ref name="Burger-2008">{{cite journal |issue=2 |year=2008 |pages=113–122 |last1=Burger |first1=Jutta C. |last2=Chapman |first2=Mark A. |last3=Burke |first3=John M. |volume=95 |s2cid=8521495 |pmid=21632337 |doi=10.3732/ajb.95.2.113 |title=Molecular insights into the evolution of crop plants |journal=American Journal of Botany |bibcode=2008AmJB...95..113B |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Zhou-1999">{{cite journal |last1=Zhou |first1=X. |last2=Jellen |first2=E.N. |last3=Murphy |first3=J.P. |year=1999 |title=Progenitor germplasm of domesticated hexaploid oat |url= |journal=Crop Science |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=1208–1214 |s2cid=8521495 |doi=10.2135/cropsci1999.0011183x003900040042x }}</ref>
Analysis of maternal lineages of 25 ''Avena'' species using chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA showed that ''A. sativa''{{'s}} hexaploid genome derives from three diploid oat species (each with two sets of chromosomes); the sets are dubbed A, B, C, and D. The diploid species are the CC ''A. ventricosa'', the AA ''A. canariensis'', and the AA ''A. longiglumis'', along with two tetraploid oats (each with four sets), namely the AACC ''A. insularis'' and the AABB ''A. agadiriana''. Tetraploids were formed as much as 10.6 mya, and hexaploids as much as 7.4 mya.<ref name="Fu-2018">{{cite journal |last=Fu |first=Yong-Bi |title=Oat evolution revealed in the maternal lineages of 25 ''Avena'' species |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=8 |issue=1 |date=2018 |article-number=4252 |pmid=29523798 |pmc=5844911 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-22478-4 |bibcode=2018NatSR...8.4252F}}<!--paper is CC-by-SA--></ref> Crosses among tetraploid or hexaploid species are fully fertile, but diploid species vary in how they interbreed. Crosses among species with different ploidy may be sterile or partially fertile.<ref name="McGraw-Hill Encyc 2012"/>
=== Domestication ===
Genomic study suggests that the hulled variety and the naked variety ''A. sativa var. nuda'' diverged around 51,200 years ago, long before domestication. This implies that the two varieties were domesticated independently.<ref name="Nan-2022">{{cite journal |last1=Nan |first1=Jinsheng |last2=Ling |first2=Yu |last3=An |first3=Jianghong |last4=Wang |first4=Ting |last5=Chai |first5=Mingna |last6=Fu |first6=Jun |last7=Wang |first7=Gaochao |last8=Yang |first8=Cai |last9=Yang |first9=Yan |last10=Han |first10=Bing |title=Genome resequencing reveals independent domestication and breeding improvement of naked oat |journal=GigaScience |volume=12 |date=28 December 2022 |article-number=giad061 |pmid=37524540 |pmc=10390318 |doi=10.1093/gigascience/giad061 }}</ref>
Oats are thought to have emerged as a secondary crop. This means that they are derived from what was considered a weed of the primary cereal domesticates such as wheat. They survived as a Vavilovian mimic by having grains that Neolithic people found hard to distinguish from the primary crop.<ref name="Zhou-1999"/><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Barrett |first=S. |year=1987 |title=Mimicry in Plants |journal=Scientific American |issue=257 |pages=76–83 |url=http://barrett.eeb.utoronto.ca/publications/files/2020/06/schb_54.pdf <!--author's website--> |archive-date=6 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706051437/http://barrett.eeb.utoronto.ca/publications/files/2020/06/schb_54.pdf |jstor=24979480}}</ref><ref name="Ye 2021">{{cite journal |last1=Ye |first1=Chu-Yu |last2=Fan |first2=Longjiang |title=Orphan Crops and their Wild Relatives in the Genomic Era |journal=Molecular Plant |volume=14 |issue=1 |date=2021 |doi=10.1016/j.molp.2020.12.013 |doi-access=free |pages=27–39 |pmid=33346062 |bibcode=2021MPlan..14...27Y }}</ref>
Oats were cultivated for some thousands of years before they were domesticated. A granary from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, about 11,400 to 11,200 years ago in the Jordan Valley in the Middle East contained a large number of wild oat grains (120,000 seeds of ''A. sterilis''). The find implies intentional cultivation. Domesticated oat grains first appear in the archaeological record in Europe around 3000 years ago.<ref name="Zhou-1999"/><ref name="Nan-2022"/><ref name="Weiss-2006">{{cite journal |last1=Weiss |first1=Ehud |last2=Kislev |first2=Mordechai E. |last3=Hartmann |first3=Anat |title=Autonomous Cultivation Before Domestication |journal=Science |volume=312 |issue=5780 |date=16 June 2006 |doi=10.1126/science.1127235 |pages=1608–1610 |pmid=16778044 }}</ref>
Oat seed dispersal is facilitated by two awns that are part of each seed head. After falling to the ground, these long, slender structures twist as they dry in sun and as they are re-moistened by dew and rain. As a result, the seeds moved along the ground until falling into gaps in the soil, essentially planting themselves.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lindtner |first1=Tom |last2=Uzan |first2=Avihai Yosef |last3=Eder |first3=Michaela |last4=Bar-On |first4=Benny |last5=Elbaum |first5=Rivka |title=Repetitive hygroscopic snapping movements in awns of wild oats |journal=Acta Biomaterialia |volume=135 |date=2021 |doi=10.1016/j.actbio.2021.08.048 |pages=483–492}}</ref> Domestication has selected for loss of awns, since seeds are now planted by humans, and larger seeds.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ladizinsky |first=G. |title=Domestication via hybridization of the wild tetraploid oats Avena magna and A. murphyi |journal=Theoretical and Applied Genetics |volume=91 |issue=4 |date=1995 |doi=10.1007/BF00223291 |pages=639–646}}</ref>
== Agronomy ==
=== Cultivation ===
Oats are annual plants best grown in temperate regions.<ref name="RBGKew"/> They tolerate cold winters less well than wheat, rye, or barley; they are harmed by sustained cold below {{convert|20|F|C|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bliss |first=Rosalie Marion |title=Hardy Oats Stand the Cold |url=https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2005/hardy-oats-stand-the-cold/ |publisher=USDA Agricultural Research Service |access-date=21 July 2024 }}</ref> They have a lower summer heat requirement and greater tolerance of (and need for) rain than the other cereals mentioned, so they are particularly important in areas with cool, wet summers, such as Northwest Europe.<ref name="RBGKew"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Oat Growth Guide |url=https://www.hutton.ac.uk/sites/default/files/files/publications/Oat-Growth-Guide.pdf |publisher=Quaker |access-date=2 May 2024 }}</ref>
Oats can grow in most fertile, drained soils, being tolerant of a wide variety of soil types. Although better yields are achieved at a soil pH of 5.3 to 5.7, oats can tolerate soils with a pH as low as 4.5. They are better able to grow in low-nutrient soils than wheat or maize, but generally are less tolerant of high soil salinity than other cereals.<ref>{{cite book |last=Forsberg |first=Robert A. |title=The Oat Crop |date=1995 |publisher=Chapman & Hall |isbn=978-0-412-37310-7 |location=Suffolk |pages=223–224 }}</ref> In the US, Midwestern crops are sown in spring and the Southern crops in autumn. In the Corn Belt, oats are grown in crop rotation following corn, soybeans, and forages. Mature oats are harvested by a combine, either directly or after drying by windrowing, since their moisture must not exceed 13% to be safely stored. The straw is either mixed in with humus or as bedding for livestock.<ref name="McGraw-Hill Encyc 2012"/> Traditionally, US farmers grew oats alongside red clover and alfalfa, which fixed nitrogen and provided animal forage. The first year's harvest yielded oat grain but later years gave way to hay. With less use of horses and more use of fertilizers, growth of these crops in the US declined. For example, the state of Iowa led US oat production until 1989, but has largely switched to maize and soybeans.<ref name="Eller 2017">{{Cite news |last=Eller |first=Donnelle |date=5 October 2017 |title=Iowa has world's largest cereal plant, but state's farmers lack market for oats |url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2017/10/05/iowa-has-worlds-largest-cereal-plant-but-states-farmers-lack-market-oats/690998001/ |access-date=23 January 2025 }}</ref><!--why so much about USA? getting close to WP:UNDUE here-->
<gallery mode=packed heights=160> File:Havreskjering Fossheim Lindahl.jpeg|Harvest in Jølster Municipality, Norway, {{circa|1890}}. File:Harvesting oats in Brastad.jpg|Harvesting oats in Brastad, Sweden, 2021 </gallery>
=== Weeds, pests, and diseases ===
{{main|List of oat diseases}}
[[File:Puccinia coronata at Avena.jpg|thumb|Oat leaf infected with crown rust ]]
Oats can outcompete many weeds, as they grow thickly (with many leafy shoots) and vigorously, but are still subject to some broadleaf weeds. Control can be by herbicides, or by integrated pest management with measures such as sowing seed that is free of weeds.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oats: weeds and integrated weed management |url=https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/hay-production/oats-weeds-and-integrated-weed-management?nopaging=1 |publisher=Government of Western Australia |access-date=2 May 2024 }}</ref>
Oats are relatively free from diseases. Nonetheless, they suffer from some leaf diseases, such as stem rust (''Puccinia graminis'' f. sp. ''avenae'') and crown rust (''P. coronata'' var. ''avenae'').<ref name="Pratap-2014">{{cite book |last1=Pratap |first1=Aditya |last2=Kumar |first2=Jitendra |title=Alien Gene Transfer in Crop Plants |year=2014 |location=New York City |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media |volume=2: Achievements and impacts |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-9572-7 |isbn=978-1-4614-9571-0 |s2cid=26278759 |lccn=2013957869 |oclc=870451823 |page=51 }}</ref> Crown rust infection can greatly reduce photosynthesis and overall physiological activities of oat leaves, thereby reducing growth and crop yield.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nazareno |first1=Eric S. |last2=Li |first2=Feng |last3=Smith |first3=Madeleine |last4=Park |first4=Robert F. |last5=Kianian |first5=Shahryar F. |last6=Figueroa |first6=Melania |date=May 2018 |title=''Puccinia coronata'' f. sp. ''avenae'': A threat to global oat production |journal=Molecular Plant Pathology |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=1047–1060 |doi=10.1111/mpp.12608 |pmc=6638059 |pmid=28846186 |bibcode=2018MolPP..19.1047N }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ars.usda.gov/midwest-area/stpaul/cereal-disease-lab/docs/cereal-rusts/oat-crown-rust/ |title=Oat crown rust |date=18 April 2008 |access-date=15 November 2015 |website=Cereal Disease Laboratory |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service }}</ref>
Both crown-rust and stem-rust have developed into races which attack different oat varieties. When resistant oat varieties are developed, new disease races tend to develop.<ref name="McGraw-Hill Encyc 2012"/>
=== Processing ===
[[File:Oatmeal.jpg|thumb|upright|Fully-processed porridge oats, ready to cook ]]
Harvested oats go through multiple stages of milling. The first stage is cleaning, to remove seeds of other plants, stones and any other extraneous materials. Next is dehulling to remove the indigestible bran, leaving the seed or "groat". Heating denatures enzymes in the seed that would make it go sour or rancid; the grain is then dried to minimise the risk of spoilage by bacteria and fungi. There may follow numerous stages of cutting or grinding the grain, depending on which sort of product is required. For oatmeal (oat flour), the grain is ground to a specified fineness. For home use such as making porridge, oats are often rolled flat to make them quicker to cook.<ref name="Decker-2014">{{cite journal |last1=Decker |first1=Eric A. |last2=Rose |first2=Devin J. |last3=Stewart |first3=Derek |title=Processing of oats and the impact of processing operations on nutrition and health benefits |journal=British Journal of Nutrition |volume=112 |issue=S2 |date=2014 |doi=10.1017/S000711451400227X |pages=S58–S64 |pmid=25267246 }}</ref>
Oat flour can be ground for small scale use by pulsing rolled oats or old-fashioned (not quick) oats in a food processor or spice mill.<ref name="Galvin-2011">{{cite book |last1=Galvin |first1=Meg |last2=Romine |first2=Stepfanie |title=The SparkPeople Cookbook |publisher=Hay House |publication-place=Carlsbad, California |date=2011 |isbn=978-1-4019-3132-2 |oclc=709682714 |page=98 }}</ref>
==Production== {| class="wikitable floatright" style="width:12em; text-align:center;" |+ Oats production <br>{{small|2024, millions of tonnes}}<br/> |- | {{CAN}} || 3.4 |- | {{RUS}} || 3.0 |- | {{POL}} || 1.6 |- | {{AUS}} || 1.3 |- | {{FIN}} || 1.2 |- | {{BRA}} || 1.1 |- ! World !! 22.4 |- |colspan=2|{{small|Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations}}<ref name="faostat">{{cite web|url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL|title=Oats production in 2024, Crops/Regions/World list/Production Quantity/Year (pick lists)|date=2026|publisher=UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT)|access-date=6 April 2026}}</ref> |}
In 2024, world production of oats was 22 million tonnes, led by Canada with 15% of the total and Russia with 13% (table).
== Genomics ==
=== Genome ===
''Avena sativa'' is an allohexaploid species with three ancestral genomes (2''n''=6''x''=42; AACCDD).<ref name="Marone-2022"/><ref name="Park-2022b">{{Cite journal |year=2022 |issue=11 |last1=Park |first1=R. F. |last2=Boshoff |first2=W. H. P. |last3=Cabral |first3=A. L. |last4=Chong |first4=J. |last5=Martinelli |first5=J. A. |last6=McMullen |first6=M. S. |last7=Fetch |first7=J. W. Mitchell |last8=Paczos-Grzęda |first8=E. |last9=Prats |first9=E. |last10=Roake |first10=J. |last11=Sowa |first11=S. |last12=Ziems |first12=L. |last13=Singh |first13=D. |display-authors=6 |pages=3709–3734 |s2cid=249381794 |doi=10.1007/s00122-022-04121-z |id=RFP {{ORCID |0000-0002-9145-5371}} |title=Breeding oat for resistance to the crown rust pathogen ''Puccinia coronata'' f. sp. ''avenae'': achievements and prospects |journal=Theoretical and Applied Genetics |volume=135 |pmid=35665827 |pmc=9729147 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Latta |first1=Robert G. |last2=Bekele |first2=Wubishet A. |last3=Wight |first3=Charlene P. |last4=Tinker |first4=Nicholas A. |title=Comparative linkage mapping of diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid ''Avena'' species suggests extensive chromosome rearrangement in ancestral diploids |journal=Scientific Reports |date=23 August 2019 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=12298 |s2cid=201283146 |id=CPW {{ORCID |0000-0003-1410-5631}} |doi=10.1038/s41598-019-48639-7 |pmid=31444367 |pmc=6707241 |bibcode=2019NatSR...912298L }}</ref> As a result, the genome is large (12.6 Gb, 1C-value=12.85) and complex.<ref name="Kole-2020">{{Cite book |year=2020 |pages=133–169 |title=Genomic Designing of Climate-Smart Cereal Crops |s2cid=211554462 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-93381-8 |isbn=978-3-319-93380-1 |editor-last1=Kole |editor-first1=Chittaranjan }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yan |first1=Honghai |last2=Martin |first2=Sara L. |last3=Bekele |first3=Wubishet A. |last4=Latta |first4=Robert G. |last5=Diederichsen |first5=Axel |last6=Peng |first6=Yuanying |last7=Tinker |first7=Nicholas A. |date=17 January 2016 |title=Genome size variation in the genus ''Avena'' |journal=Genome |volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=209–220 |s2cid=22267641 |doi=10.1139/gen-2015-0132 |pmid=26881940 |hdl=1807/71262 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Cultivated hexaploid oat has a unique mosaic chromosome architecture that is the result of numerous translocations between the three subgenomes.<ref name="Marone-2022">{{Cite journal |language=en |year=2022 |publisher=BioMed Central |volume=18 |issue=128 |first2=Harmeet |first1=Marina |first3=Curtis |last3=Pozniak |last2=Singh |last1=Marone |journal=Plant Methods |issn=1746-4811 |s2cid=254152395 |title=A technical guide to TRITEX, a computational pipeline for chromosome-scale sequence assembly of plant genomes |page=128 |doi=10.1186/s13007-022-00964-1 |pmid=36461065 |pmc=9719158 |bibcode=2022PlMet..18..128M |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kamal |first1=Nadia |last2=Tsardakas Renhuldt |first2=Nikos |last3=Bentzer |first3=Johan |last4=Gundlach |first4=Heidrun |last5=Haberer |first5=Georg |last6=Juhász |first6=Angéla |last7=Lux |first7=Thomas |last8=Bose |first8=Utpal |last9=Tye-Din |first9=Jason A. |last10=Lang |first10=Daniel |last11=van Gessel |first11=Nico |last12=Reski |first12=Ralf |last13=Fu |first13=Yong-Bi |last14=Spégel |first14=Peter |last15=Ceplitis |first15=Alf |display-authors=6 |date=1 June 2022 |title=The mosaic oat genome gives insights into a uniquely healthy cereal crop |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=606 |issue=7912 |pages=113–119 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-04732-y |s2cid=248890897 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=9159951 |pmid=35585233 |bibcode=2022Natur.606..113K}} </ref> These translocations may cause breeding barriers and incompatibilities when crossing varieties with different chromosomal architecture. Hence, oat breeding and the crossing of desired traits has been hampered by the lack of a reference genome assembly. In May 2022, a fully annotated reference genome sequence of ''Avena sativa'' was reported.<ref name="Marone-2022"/> The AA subgenome is presumed to be derived from ''Avena longiglumis'' and the CCDD from the tetraploid ''Avena insularis''.<ref name="Marone-2022"/>
=== Genetics and breeding ===
The US Department of Agriculture oversees the world oat collection, a set of 14,000 genetic lines of 42-chromosome species. These are used to breed for yield of new species, higher quality existing crops, and resistance against lodging and disease.<ref name="McGraw-Hill Encyc 2012"/>
Species of ''Avena'' can hybridize, and genes introgressed (brought in) from other "A" genome species have contributed many valuable traits, like resistance to oat crown rust.<ref name="Ye-2021">{{Cite journal |issue=1 |year=2021 |volume=14 |pages=27–39 |last1=Ye |first1=Chu-Yu |last2=Fan |first2=Longjiang |s2cid=229342158 |doi=10.1016/j.molp.2020.12.013 |title=Orphan Crops and their Wild Relatives in the Genomic Era |journal=Molecular Plant |pmid=33346062 |bibcode=2021MPlan..14...27Y |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Maughan |first1=Peter J. |last2=Lee |first2=Rebekah |last3=Walstead |first3=Rachel |last4=Vickerstaff |first4=Robert J. |last5=Fogarty |first5=Melissa C. |last6=Brouwer |first6=Cory R. |last7=Reid |first7=Robert R. |last8=Jay |first8=Jeremy J. |last9=Bekele |first9=Wubishet A. |last10=Jackson |first10=Eric W. |last11=Tinker |first11=Nicholas A. |last12=Langdon |first12=Tim |last13=Schlueter |first13=Jessica A. |last14=Jellen |first14=Eric N. |display-authors=6 |title=Genomic insights from the first chromosome-scale assemblies of oat (''Avena'' spp.) diploid species |journal=BMC Biology |date=22 November 2019 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=92 |s2cid=208225185 |doi=10.1186/s12915-019-0712-y |pmid=31757219 |pmc=6874827 |doi-access=free }}</ref> {{Visible anchor |Pc98 }} is one such trait, introgressed from ''A. sterilis'' CAV 1979, conferring all stage resistance (ASR) against ''Pca''.<ref name="Park-2022a">{{cite journal |year=2022 |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media |display-authors=6 |first13=D. |first12=L. |first11=S. |first10=J. |first9=E. |first8=E. |first7=J. |first6=M. |first5=J. |first4=J. |first3=A. |first2=W. |first1=R. |last13=Singh |last7=Fetch |last6=McMullen |last5=Martinelli |last4=Chong |last3=Cabral |last2=Boshoff |last12=Ziems |last11=Sowa |last10=Roake |last9=Prats |last8=Paczos |last1=Park |journal=Theoretical and Applied Genetics |issn=0040-5752 |doi=10.1007/s00122-022-04121-z |title=Breeding oat for resistance to the crown rust pathogen ''Puccinia coronata'' f. sp. ''avenae'': achievements and prospects |series=Breeding towards Agricultural Sustainability |volume=135 |issue=11 |pages=3709–3734 |pmid=35665827 |pmc=9729147 |s2cid=249381794 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
It is possible to hybridize oats with grasses in other genera, allowing plant breeders the ready introgression of traits. In contrast to wheat, oats sometimes retain chromosomes from maize or pearl millet after such crosses. These wide crosses are typically made to generate doubled haploid breeding material; the rapid loss of the alien chromosomes from the unrelated pollen donor results in a plant with only a single set of chromosomes (a haploid).<ref name="Thondehaalmath-2021">{{Cite journal |year=2021 |issue=13 |volume=72 |last1=Thondehaalmath |first1=Tejas |last2=Kulaar |first2=Dilsher Singh |last3=Bondada |first3=Ramesh |last4=Maruthachalam |first4=Ravi |s2cid=242417200 |doi=10.1093/jxb/erab161 |pages=4646–4662 |title=Understanding and exploiting uniparental genome elimination in plants: insights from ''Arabidopsis thaliana'' |journal=Journal of Experimental Botany |pmid=33851980 |id=RB {{ORCID |0000-0002-8869-1947}}. RM {{ORCID |0000-0003-0036-3330}} }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |issn=0032-0889 |volume=125 |issue=3 |pages=1216–1227 |last1=Kynast |first1=Ralf G. |last2=Riera-Lizarazu |first2=Oscar |last3=Vales |first3=M. Isabel |last4=Okagaki |first4=Ron J. |last5=Maquieira |first5=Silvia B. |last6=Chen |first6=Gang |last7=Ananiev |first7=Evgueni V |last8=Odland |first8=Wade E |last9=Russell |first9=Charles D. |last10=Stec |first10=Adrian O. |display-authors=6 |title=A complete set of maize individual chromosome additions to the oat genome |journal=Plant Physiology |date=2001 |doi=10.1104/pp.125.3.1216 |s2cid=22852580 |pmid=11244103 |pmc=65602 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |year=2017 |last1=Ishii |first1=Takayoshi |title=Oat |publisher=Springer |publication-place=New York |isbn=978-1-4939-6680-6 |pages=31–42 |s2cid=23707249 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4939-6682-0_3 |chapter=Wide Hybridization Between Oat and Pearl Millet |series=Methods in Molecular Biology |volume=1536 |pmid=28132141 }}</ref>
The addition lines with alien chromosomes can be used as a source for novel traits in oats. For example, research on oat-maize-addition lines has been used to map genes involved in C4 photosynthesis. To obtain Mendelian inheritance of these novel traits, radiation hybrid lines have been established, where maize chromosome segments have been introgressed into the oat genome. This potentially transfers thousands of genes from a species that is distantly related, but is not considered a GMO technique.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Halford |first=Nigel G. |title=Legislation governing genetically modified and genome-edited crops in Europe: the need for change |journal=Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture |date=15 January 2019 |pmid=29952140 |pmc=6492171 |bibcode=2019JSFA...99....8H |doi=10.1002/jsfa.9227 |issn=0022-5142 |volume=99 |issue=1 |pages=8–12 }}</ref>
A 2013 study applied simple sequence repeat and found five major groupings, namely commercial cultivars and four landrace groups.<ref name="Riaz-2016" >{{ Cite journal |issue=3 |year=2016 |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media |volume=64 |last1=Riaz |first1=Adnan |last2=Hathorn |first2=Adrian |last3=Dinglasan |first3=Eric |last4=Ziems |first4=Laura |last5=Richard |first5=Cecile |last6=Singh |first6=Dharmendra |last7=Mitrofanova |first7=Olga |last8=Afanasenko |first8=Olga |last9=Aitken |first9=Elizabeth |last10=Godwin |first10=Ian |last11=Hickey |first11=Lee |display-authors=6 |pages=531–544 |doi=10.1007/s10722-016-0380-5 |title=Into the vault of the Vavilov wheats: old diversity for new alleles |journal=Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution |s2cid=254499298 |issn=0925-9864 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite journal |issue=6 |year=2013 |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |last1=Montilla-Bascón |first1=G. |last2=Sánchez-Martín |first2=J. |last3=Rispail |first3=N. |last4=Rubiales |first4=D. |last5=Mur |first5=L. |last6=Langdon |first6=T. |last7=Griffiths |first7=I. |last8=Howarth |first8=C. |last9=Prats |first9=E. |display-authors=6 |title=Genetic Diversity and Population Structure Among Oat Cultivars and Landraces |journal=Plant Molecular Biology Reporter |volume=31 |doi=10.1007/s11105-013-0598-8 |pages=1305–1314 |bibcode=2013PMBR...31.1305M |hdl=10261/95010 |s2cid=18581328 |hdl-access=free}} </ref>
== Nutrition ==
=== Nutrients ===
{{Infobox nutritional value | name=Uncooked oats | kJ=1628 | protein=16.9 g | fat=6.9 g | satfat=1.21 g | transfat= | monofat=2.18 g | polyfat=2.54 g | omega3fat= | omega6fat= | carbs=66.3 g | fiber=11.6 g | calcium_mg=54 | iron_mg=5 | magnesium_mg=177 | phosphorus_mg=523 | potassium_mg=429 | sodium_mg=2 | zinc_mg=4 | manganese_mg=4.9 | thiamin_mg=0.763 | riboflavin_mg=0.139 | niacin_mg=0.961 | pantothenic_mg=1.349 | vitB6_mg=0.12 | folate_ug=56 | water=8 g | opt1n=β-glucans (soluble fiber) <ref>{{cite web |title=Oat and barley ß-glucans |url=http://www5.agr.gc.ca/resources/prod/doc/misb/fb-ba/nutra/pdf/B-Glucans_Eng.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513202232/http://www5.agr.gc.ca/resources/prod/doc/misb/fb-ba/nutra/pdf/B-Glucans_Eng.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2018 |url-status=live |publisher=Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Government of Canada |access-date=27 July 2019 |date=1 August 2008 }}</ref> | opt1v=4 g | note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169705/nutrients USDA FoodData Central entry]}}
Uncooked oats are 66% carbohydrates, including 11% dietary fiber and 4% beta-glucans, 7% fat, 17% protein, and 8% water (table). In a reference serving of {{cvt|100|g}}, oats provide {{convert|389|kcal|kJ|lk=on}} and are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein (34% DV), dietary fiber (44% DV), several B vitamins, and numerous dietary minerals, especially manganese (213% DV) (table).
=== Health effects ===
==== On blood lipids ====
Regular consumption of oat products lowers blood levels of low-density lipoprotein and total cholesterol,<ref name="Schoeneck Iggman 2021">{{cite journal |last1=Schoeneck |first1=Malin |last2=Iggman |first2=David |title=The effects of foods on LDL cholesterol levels: A systematic review of the accumulated evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials |journal=Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases |volume=31 |issue=5 |date=2021 |doi=10.1016/j.numecd.2020.12.032 |doi-access=free |pages=1325–1338 |pmid=33762150 |url=http://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939475321000028/pdf |access-date=22 April 2025}}</ref><ref name="Whitehead-2014">{{cite journal |last1=Whitehead |first1=Anne |last2=Beck |first2=Eleanor J. |last3=Tosh |first3=Susan |last4=Wolever |first4=Thomas M.S. |title=Cholesterol-lowering effects of oat β-glucan: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |journal=American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |year=2014 |volume=100 |issue=6 |pages=1413–1421 |pmid=25411276 |pmc=5394769 |doi=10.3945/ajcn.114.086108 }}</ref> reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.<ref name="Llanaj-2022">{{cite journal |last1=Llanaj |first1=Erand |last2=Dejanovic |first2=Gordana M. |last3=Valido |first3=Ezra |last4=Bano |first4=Arjola |last5=Gamba |first5=Magda |last6=Kastrati |first6=Lum |last7=Minder |first7=Beatrice |last8=Stojic |first8=Stevan |last9=Voortman |first9=Trudy |last10=Marques-Vidal |first10=Pedro |last11=Stoyanov |first11=Jivko |last12=Metzger |first12=Brandon |last13=Glisic |first13=Marija |last14=Kern |first14=Hua |last15=Muka |first15=Taulant |display-authors=6 |title=Effect of oat supplementation interventions on cardiovascular disease risk markers: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials |journal=European Journal of Nutrition |volume=61 |issue=4 |pages=1749–1778 |date=June 2022 |pmid=34977959 |pmc=9106631 |doi=10.1007/s00394-021-02763-1 }}</ref> The beneficial effect of oat consumption on lowering blood lipids is attributed to oat beta-glucan.<ref name="Whitehead-2014"/><ref name="Llanaj-2022"/>
In response to the 1980s oat bran fad in the United States (described below), the Food and Drug Administration adopted a rule in 1997 that requires at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber per serving in any product that bears a health claim associating its oat content with a reduced risk of heart disease.<ref name="US FDA-2015">{{cite web |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=101.81 |title=Title 21--Chapter 1, Subchapter B, Part 101 - Food labeling - Specific Requirements for Health Claims, Section 101.81: Health claims: Soluble fiber from certain foods and risk of coronary heart disease |publisher=US Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration |date=1 April 2015 |access-date=10 November 2015 }}</ref>
==== Coeliac disease ====
{{main|Oat sensitivity|Gluten-related disorders}}
Coeliac disease (celiac disease in American English) is a permanent autoimmune disease triggered by gluten proteins.<ref name="Biesiekierski-2017">{{cite journal |last=Biesiekierski |first=J.R. |title=What is gluten? |journal=Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology |year=2017 |volume=32 |issue=Supplement 1 |pages=78–81 |pmid=28244676 |doi=10.1111/jgh.13703 |s2cid=6493455 |type=Review |quote=Similar proteins to the gliadin found in wheat exist as secalin in rye, hordein in barley, and avenins in oats and are collectively referred to as "gluten." Derivatives of these grains such as triticale and malt and other ancient wheat varieties such as spelt and kamut also contain gluten. The gluten found in all of these grains has been identified as the component capable of triggering the immune-mediated disorder, coeliac disease. |doi-access=free}}{{open access }}</ref><ref name="La Vieille-2016">{{cite journal |last1=La Vieille |first1=Sébastien |last2=Pulido |first2=Olga M. |last3=Abbott |first3=Michael |last4=Koerner |first4=Terence B. |last5=Godefroy |first5=Samuel |title=Celiac Disease and Gluten-Free Oats: A Canadian Position Based on a Literature Review |journal=Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology |volume=2016 |date=2016 |pmid=27446825 |pmc=4904695 |doi=10.1155/2016/1870305 |doi-access=free |pages=1–10 }}</ref><ref name="Comino-2015"/><ref name="Fric-2011">{{cite journal |last1=Fric |first1=Premysl |last2=Gabrovska |first2=Dana |last3=Nevoral |first3=Jiri |title=Celiac disease, gluten-free diet, and oats: Nutrition Reviews©, Vol. 69, No. 2 |journal=Nutrition Reviews |volume=69 |issue=2 |date=2011 |doi=10.1111/j.1753-4887.2010.00368.x |pages=107–115 |pmid=21294744 }}</ref> It almost always occurs in genetically predisposed people, having a prevalence of about 1% in the developed world.<ref name="Biesiekierski-2017"/><ref name="Tovoli-2015">{{cite journal |last=Tovoli |first=Francesco |title=Clinical and diagnostic aspects of gluten related disorders |journal=World Journal of Clinical Cases |volume=3 |issue=3 |date=2015 |pages=275–284 |issn=2307-8960 |pmid=25789300 |pmc=4360499 |doi=10.12998/wjcc.v3.i3.275 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Lamacchia-2014">{{cite journal |last1=Lamacchia |first1=Carmela |last2=Camarca |first2=Alessandra |last3=Picascia |first3=Stefania |last4=Di Luccia |first4=Aldo |last5=Gianfrani |first5=Carmen |title=Cereal-Based Gluten-Free Food: How to Reconcile Nutritional and Technological Properties of Wheat Proteins with Safety for Celiac Disease Patients |journal=Nutrients |volume=6 |issue=2 |date=29 January 2014 |pmid=24481131 |pmc=3942718 |doi=10.3390/nu6020575 |doi-access=free |pages=575–590 }}</ref> Oat products are frequently contaminated by other gluten-containing grains, mainly wheat and barley, requiring caution in the use of oats if people are sensitive to the gluten in those grains.<ref name="La Vieille-2016"/><ref name="Comino-2015">{{cite journal |last1=Comino |first1=Isabel |last2=Moreno |first2=Mde L. |last3=Sousa |first3=C. |title=Role of oats in celiac disease |journal=World Journal of Gastroenterology |volume=21 |issue=41 |date=2015 |pages=11825–11831 |issn=1007-9327 |pmid=26557006 |pmc=4631980 |doi=10.3748/wjg.v21.i41.11825 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Penagini-2013">{{cite journal |last1=Penagini |first1=Francesca |last2=Dilillo |first2=Dario |last3=Meneghin |first3=Fabio |last4=Mameli |first4=Chiara |last5=Fabiano |first5=Valentina |last6=Zuccotti |first6=Gian |title=Gluten-Free Diet in Children: An Approach to a Nutritionally Adequate and Balanced Diet |journal=Nutrients |volume=5 |issue=11 |date=18 November 2013 |pmid=24253052 |pmc=3847748 |doi=10.3390/nu5114553 |doi-access=free |pages=4553–4565 }}</ref><ref name="de Souza-2016">{{cite journal |last1=de Souza |first1=M. Cristina P. |last2=Deschênes |first2=Marie-Eve |last3=Laurencelle |first3=Suzanne |last4=Godet |first4=Patrick |last5=Roy |first5=Claude C. |last6=Djilali-Saiah |first6=Idriss |title=Pure Oats as Part of the Canadian Gluten-Free Diet in Celiac Disease: The Need to Revisit the Issue |journal=Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology |volume=2016 |date=2016 |pmid=27446824 |pmc=4904650 |doi=10.1155/2016/1576360 |doi-access=free |pages=1–8 }}</ref> For example, oat bread often contains only a small proportion of oats alongside wheat or other cereals.<ref name="Sontag-Strohm-2008">{{cite book |last1=Sontag-Strohm |first1=Tuula |last2=Lehtinen |first2=Pekka |last3=Kaukovirta-Norja |first3=Anu |title=Gluten-Free Cereal Products and Beverages |chapter=Oat products and their current status in the celiac diet |publisher=Elsevier |date=2008 |isbn=978-0-12-373739-7 |doi=10.1016/b978-012373739-7.50010-1 |pages=191–202 }}</ref> Use of pure oats in a gluten-free diet offers improved nutritional value,<ref name="Comino-2015"/><ref name="Pinto-Sánchez-2017">{{cite journal |last1=Pinto-Sánchez |first1=María Inés |last2=Causada-Calo |first2=Natalia |last3=Bercik |first3=Premysl |last4=Ford |first4=Alexander C. |last5=Murray |first5=Joseph A. |last6=Armstrong |first6=David |last7=Semrad |first7=Carol |last8=Kupfer |first8=Sonia S. |last9=Alaedini |first9=Armin |last10=Moayyedi |first10=Paul |last11=Leffler |first11=Daniel A. |last12=Verdú |first12=Elena F. |last13=Green |first13=Peter |display-authors=6 |title=Safety of Adding Oats to a Gluten-Free Diet for Patients With Celiac Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Clinical and Observational Studies |journal=Gastroenterology |volume=153 |issue=2 |date=2017 |doi=10.1053/j.gastro.2017.04.009 |pages=395–409.e3 |pmid=28431885 }}</ref> but remains controversial because a small proportion of people with coeliac disease react to pure oats.<ref name="La Vieille-2016"/><ref name="Ciacci-2015">{{cite journal |last1=Ciacci |first1=Carolina |last2=Ciclitira |first2=Paul |last3=Hadjivassiliou |first3=Marios |last4=Kaukinen |first4=Katri |last5=Ludvigsson |first5=Jonas F. |last6=McGough |first6=Norma |last7=Sanders |first7=David S. |last8=Woodward |first8=Jeremy |last9=Leonard |first9=Jonathan N. |last10=Swift |first10=Gillian L. |display-authors=6 |title=The gluten-free diet and its current application in coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis |journal=United European Gastroenterology Journal |volume=3 |issue=2 |date=2015 |pmid=25922672 |pmc=4406897 |doi=10.1177/2050640614559263 |pages=121–135 }}</ref>
== Uses ==
=== As food ===
When used in foods, oats are most commonly rolled or crushed into oatmeal or ground into fine oat flour. Oatmeal is chiefly eaten as porridge, but may also be used in a variety of baked goods, such as oatcakes (which may be made with coarse steel-cut oats for a rougher texture), oatmeal cookies and oat bread. Oats are an ingredient in many cold cereals, in particular muesli and granola; the Quaker Oats Company introduced instant oatmeal in 1966.<ref name="QuakerOatsCo">{{Cite web |title=Quaker Oats History |publisher=Quaker Oats Company |url=https://www.quakeroats.com/about-quaker-oats/quaker-history |access-date=20 July 2024 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420183603/https://www.quakeroats.com/about-quaker-oats/quaker-history |url-status=dead }}</ref> Oats are also used to produce milk substitutes ("oat milk").<ref name="Hitchens-2018">{{cite magazine |last=Hitchens |first=Antonia |date=6 August 2018 |title=Hey, Where's my oat milk? |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=10 December 2018 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/08/06/hey-wheres-my-oat-milk }}</ref> {{As of|2020|9 |alt=As of late 2020 |post=, }} the oat milk market became the second-largest among plant milks in the United States, following almond milk, but exceeding the sales of soy milk.<ref name="Watson-2020">{{cite web |first=Elaine |last=Watson |title=Oatmilk edges past soymilk for #2 slot in US plant-based milk retail market |url=https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2020/09/25/Oatmilk-edges-past-soymilk-for-2-slot-in-US-plant-based-milk-retail-market-as-almondmilk-continues-to-drive-category-sales |publisher=William Reed Business Media |access-date=20 December 2020 |date=25 September 2020 }}</ref> As a mainstay of West Wales for centuries, until changes in farming practices in the 1960s, oats were used in many traditional Welsh dishes, including laverbread, a Welsh breakfast, and "cockles and eggs" served with oatbread.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nation.cymru/culture/food-tales-from-wales/ |title=Food Tales from Wales |first=Carwyn |last=Graves |work=Nation.Cymru |date=4 December 2022 |access-date=23 July 2024 }}</ref> Oat noodles have traditionally been eaten in Shanxi, China.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Li |first1=Lulu |title=Oat noodle rolls, a special dish of northern China |url=https://www.globalpeople.com.cn/n4/2024/0709/c305974-21387700.html |agency=CGTN |date=9 July 2024}}</ref>
In Britain, oats are sometimes used for brewing beer, such as oatmeal stout where a percentage of oats, often 30%, is added to the barley for the wort.<ref name="BJCP">{{cite web |url=https://www.bjcp.org/style/2021/16/16B/oatmeal-stout/ |website=BJCP |access-date=20 March 2024 |title=Beer Judge Certification Program }}</ref> Oatmeal caudle, made of ale and oatmeal with spices, was a traditional British drink and a favourite of Oliver Cromwell.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Compleat Housewife |page=169 |first=Eliza |last=Smith |author-link=Eliza Smith (writer) |date=1739 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Food in Early Modern Europe |first=Ken |last=Albala |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2003 |isbn=0-313-31962-6 }}</ref>
The United States saw a surge in consumption of oats in the late 1980s, after the Quaker Oats Company began to promote its products as having cholesterol-reducing benefits on the basis of a 1986 study.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Van Horn|first1=Linda|last2=Liu|first2=Kiang|last3=Parker|first3=Donna|last4=Emidy|first4=Linda|last5=Liao|first5=You-lian|last6=Pan|first6=Wen Harn|last7=Giumetti|first7=Dante|last8=Hewitt|first8=John|last9=Stamler|first9=Jeremiah|title=Serum lipid response to oat product intake with a fat-modified diet|date=June 1986|journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association|volume=86|number=6|pages=759–764 |doi=10.1016/S0002-8223(21)04017-7 |pmid=3011876 }}</ref> This "oat bran fad" lasted until 1990, when newer studies cast doubt on the earlier findings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Robert |chapter=Oh, What Those Oats Can Do: Quaker Oats, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the Market Value of Scientific Evidence 1984–2010 |title=Oats: Nutrition and Technology |editor-last=Chu |editor-first=Yi Fang |year=2014}}</ref>
<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180> File:Oatcakes (1).jpg|Oatcakes File:Oat noodle rolls served in Beijing (20170406174236).jpg|Shanxi-style oat noodle rolls File:Oat porridge in Ghana.jpg|Porridge File:Oat milk glass and bottles.jpg|Oat milk File:Jomax Oatmeal Stout (32903939086).jpg|Oatmeal stout </gallery>
=== Animal feed ===
thumb|A commercially prepared grain mix for horses, with crimped maize, oats, and barley mixed with molasses and pelleted supplement
Oats are commonly used as feed for horses when extra carbohydrates and the subsequent boost in energy are required. The oat hull may be crushed ("rolled" or "crimped") to make them easier to digest,<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 December 2003 |title=Oats: The Perfect Horse Feed? |url=https://ker.com/equinews/oats-perfect-horse-feed/ |access-date=20 June 2023 |website=Kentucky Equine Research }}</ref> or may be fed whole. They may be given alone or as part of a blended food pellet. Cattle are also fed oats, either whole or ground into a coarse flour using a roller mill, burr mill, or hammermill. Oat forage is commonly used to feed all kinds of ruminants, as pasture, straw, hay or silage.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Valérie |last1=Heuzé |first2=Gilles |last2=Tran |first3=Anne |last3=Boudon |first4=François |last4=Lebas |title=Oat forage |publisher=Institut national de la recherche agronomique, CIRAD, Association Française de Zootechnie and FAO |url=https://www.feedipedia.org/node/500 |access-date=27 March 2023 |website=Feedipedia |year=2016 }}</ref>
=== Ground cover ===
Winter oats may be grown as an off-season groundcover and ploughed under in the spring as a green fertilizer, or harvested in early summer. They also can be used for pasture; they can be grazed a while, then allowed to head out for grain production, or grazed continuously until other pastures are ready.<ref name="eXtension-2008">{{cite web |access-date=27 March 2013 |date=11 February 2008 |archive-date=23 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171123003745/http://articles.extension.org/pages/13262/grazing-of-oat-pastures |url=http://www.extension.org/pages/13262/grazing-of-oat-pastures |title=Grazing of Oat Pastures |publisher=eXtension }}</ref>
=== Other uses ===
Oat straw is used as animal bedding; it absorbs liquids better than wheat straw.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alternative Bedding Materials |url=https://www.fas.scot/downloads/alternative-bedding-materials/ |publisher=Farm Advisory Service |access-date=2 May 2024 }}</ref> The straw can be used for making corn dollies, small decorative woven figures.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lancashire fringe (corn dolly) |url=https://www.reading.ac.uk/adlib/Details/collect/15882 |publisher=University of Reading |access-date=2 May 2024 }}</ref> Tied in a muslin bag, oat straw has been used to soften bath water.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Barbano |first1=Paul |title=Since prehistoric times oat grass has been a major source of food for animals and humans |url=https://www.capegazette.com/article/prehistoric-times-oat-grass-has-been-major-source-food-animals-and-humans/199531 |publisher=Cape Gazette |access-date=2 May 2024 |date=18 March 2020 }}</ref>
In biotechnology, Oat-derived proteins such as LOV-domains have been used as the basis for technologies including quantum sensors<ref>{{cite web |title=Engineered Proteins Use Quantum Spin Resonance for Biological Sensing in Bacteria |url=https://www.genengnews.com/topics/omics/engineered-proteins-use-quantum-spin-resonance-for-biological-sensing-in-bacteria/ |publisher=GEN Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News |access-date=27 January 2026}}</ref> and fluorescent reporters.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2026 |title=Quantum spin resonance in engineered proteins for multimodal sensing |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09971-3 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/s41586-025-09971-3 |via=Springer Nature|doi-access=free |pmc=12851924 }}</ref>.
Furfural, a chemical used for manufacturing nylon, is obtained from oat hulls.<ref name="McGraw-Hill Encyc 2012"/>
== In human culture ==
Oats have been eaten in Britain since the Iron Age. Production and consumption was long concentrated in Scotland even as oats were cultivated elsewhere. In the 16th and 17th centuries, as the emergence of alternative food sources meant the English were less reliant on oats for sustenance, oats began to be regarded as a mark of inferiority.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stavely |first=Keith |url=https://archive.org/details/americasfounding0000keit/ |title=America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking |last2=Fitzgerald |first2=Kathleen |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-8078-2894-7 |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina & London |page=35 |url-access=limited}}</ref> In his 1755 ''Dictionary of the English Language'', Samuel Johnson defined oats as "A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people."<ref>{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Samuel |author-link=Samuel Johnson |title=Oats |url=https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=oats |website=Samuel Johnson's Dictionary Online |access-date=20 July 2024 |date=1755 }}</ref>
"Oats and Beans and Barley Grow" is the first line of a traditional folksong (1380 in the Roud Folk Song Index), recorded in different forms from 1870. Similar songs are recorded from France, Canada, Belgium, Sweden, and Italy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oats and Beans and Barley Grows |url=http://www.joe-offer.com/folkinfo/songs/12.html |website=Joe-offer.com |access-date=3 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918173339/http://www.joe-offer.com/folkinfo/songs/12.html |archive-date=18 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In English, oats are associated with sexual intercourse, as in the idioms "sowing one's (wild) oats", meaning having many sexual partners in one's youth,<ref>{{cite web |title=sow one's (wild) oats: idiom |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sow%20one%27s%20%28wild%29%20oats |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=3 May 2024 }}</ref> and "getting your oats", meaning having sex regularly.<ref>{{cite web |title=to get your oats |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/to-get-your-oats |publisher=Collins |access-date=3 May 2024 }}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Cereals}} {{Agriculture country lists}} {{Bioenergy}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q12104}} Category:Oats Category:Avena Category:Cereals Category:Demulcents Category:Fodder Category:Medicinal plants Category:Plants described in 1753 Category:Staple foods Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus