Adaptation and Agronomic Performance of Domesticated Moroccan Oat (Avena magna ssp. domestica) Lines under Subsistence Farming Conditions at Multiple Locations in Morocco

Abstract

Common hexaploid oat (Avena sativa L.) is an important global cereal crop. A Moroccan tetraploid sister species, A. magna Murphy et Terrel, was exclusively a wild species until recently. The goal of domestication was to exploit its superior groat-protein content and climatic tolerances. We set up replicated trials of 41 domesticated A. magna lines on eight Moroccan farms during the 2017–18 and 2018–19 growing seasons. Twenty traits were measured and analyses of variance detected significant differences among lines. The highest grain yield was at Berrechid in 2017–18 (63.56 q/ha), with an average annual yield across sites of 43.50 q/ha, the site factor explaining 82% and the genotype-environment interaction explaining 15% of the variability. In the second year, El Kebab recorded the highest yield at 20.03 q/ha over the annual average of 14.78 q/ha. In this second year, the site factor was highly significant, explaining 42.25% of the variation, with the genotype-environment interaction explaining 26.61% of the variability. An additional main effect and multiplicative interaction analysis of the eight two-year trials identified several accessions with good yield stability. Twelve lines exhibited a ASVs ≤ 1.50, with five accessions (A34, A40, A23, A05, A04) exceeding the overall average yield of 29.53 and A34 having the greatest mean grain yield and stability. The versatility and stability of A. magna can provide a sustainable protein source and an economic resource for farmers seeking products that are resilient to climatic instability.

Quality Characteristics of Twelve Advanced Lines of Avena magna ssp. domestica Grown in Three Contrasting Locations in Morocco

“…sativa backcross lines and a wild A . magna to produce a segregating population from which lines were selected at various generations of inbreeding [ 26 , 28 ].…”

“…domestica breeding lines provided by General Mills, Inc. in Minneapolis, MN, USA. The eleven lines were selected based on yield, disease tolerance, production stability, and lemma pubescence ( Lp ) following adaptation trials over two growing seasons in Morocco, 2018 and 2019 [ 28 ]. Seeds for the nutritional analysis were collected from the 2020–2021 trials in Alnif, Bouchane, and El Kbab, Morocco.…”

“…The differences in protein content were undoubtedly influenced by one or more factors, including the geographical location, cultivation and storage conditions, and technical analysis. It should also be noted that the A. magna strains in our study were derived from a cross between one of Ladizinsky's original 28-chromosome A. magna × A. sativa backcross lines and a wild A. magna to produce a segregating population from which lines were selected at various generations of inbreeding [26,28].…”

“…Subsequently, several lines were further developed by mutagenesis [ 26 ]. Some of these lines have recently demonstrated their suitability for large-scale production in their native Morocco [ 28 , 29 ]. However, studies on the chemical composition of the most recently developed germplasm grown in Morocco are lacking.…”

Loving the Alien: The Contribution of the Wild in Securing the Breeding of Cultivated Hexaploid Wheat and Oats

“…An alternative approach to breeding, based on introducing genes that determine desirable traits from non-cultivated species, is the domestication of selected wild species, or the synthesis of new artificial tetraploid, hexaploid, or octoploid forms [263,264]. Ladizinsky [265] presented an attempt to domesticate two wild tetraploid oat species, A. magna and A. murphyi, and selected domesticated A. magna lines are undergoing productivity evaluations in their native region of Morocco [266,267]. Domesticated tetraploids might be more successful than the common oat in the warm climate of North Africa or the Iberian Peninsula.…”