Oat growers were being urged to drill some of the new varieties available for this autumn by Pepsico, the parent company of Quaker Oats.

“It’s exciting to see that there are new, improved varieties on the Recommended List,” said Pepsico’s UK oats purchasing manager Gill Haggarty.

“They offer real advances to the grower, so we’re keen for people to try them out,” she added.

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Quaker Oats uses both spring and winter oats in its expanding product range, but doesn’t specify certain varieties.

“If we come across a variety which doesn’t work for us, we let growers know immediately. But we’re interested in all three of the new additions, so we’re keen for growers to give them a try.”
Gill Hattarty, Pepsico’s UK oats purchasing manager

“If we come across a variety which doesn’t work for us, we let growers know immediately. But we’re interested in all three of the new additions, so we’re keen for growers to give them a try,” she added.

The new varieties – all of which were added to the HGCA recommended List last December – include the winter oat Rhapsody and the spring types Monaco and Conway. All three are marketed by Senova and come from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Science (Ibers) breeding programme.

Rhapsody offers an 11% yield improvement over the market leader, Mascani, together with good straw characters and better disease resistance.

Monaco is the highest yielding spring oat at 104, while Conway at 101 offers the best grain quality.