SDSU Researchers Develop 2 New Oat Varieties

Researchers at South Dakota State University have developed two new oat varieties.

The cultivars developed at the South Dakota State University Agricultural Experiment Station recently developed the Horsepower cultivar and a new multi-purpose oat variety, Goliath.

SDSU oat breeder Lon Hall says Horsepower has exceptional yield potential and superior straw strength. Goliath can be used for grain production, forage or straw.

The varieties took nearly a decade to develop.

Hall says plant breeding is a process of elimination that's not about picking the best, but throwing out the worst until you're left with the best. He works with about 500 unique hybridizations, 300 populations, 30,000 mass selected plants and 2000 derived lines each year.

SDSU has one of only a few oat breeding programs in the nation.