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The chemical composition of oats II. The nitrogen content of oats and groats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. B. Hutchinson
Affiliation:
Research Association of British Flour-Millers, St Albans
H. F. Martin
Affiliation:
Research Association of British Flour-Millers, St Albans

Extract

The nitrogen content of oats depends chiefly on the nitrogen content (1·4–3·9%) of the kernel and the kernel content (64–81%) of the oats, the husk containing only 3–10% of the total nitrogen in the grain.

Varietal differences are significant but small in comparison with the overall variability: they reach 0·3% nitrogen in a few cases. Variation between random samples is largely due to soil differences, with region and harvest year responsible for smaller effects. The predominant factor governing nitrogen level in oats of all varieties probably is, as for wheat, the level of available nitrogen in the soil in late spring and early summer, just prior to heading and during development of the grain.

Within the variety there is a pronounced inverse correlation between nitrogen and oil content which is independent of grain size: the variability of the oil content within the variety is, however, smaller than the corresponding variability of the nitrogen content. At some localities environmental factors of soil and season, particularly the former, inhibit the filling out of the grains which then ripen prematurely to give small oats with lean kernels of high nitrogen content, and favour within the variety a negative correlation between grain size and nitrogen which otherwise might not be apparent.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1955

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