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Abstract Oats (Avena sativa L.) are used for human and livestock consumption. Currently, the market prefers white hulled oats that have a high test weight, which historically were used for equine feed. Plant breeding programs in the Midwest United States produce both white and yellow hulled oats that meet industry standards; however, there appears to be a market preference for white hulled oats even though the hull is removed before processing for human consumption. The perception for this preference is that the horse industry demands white oats. This two-part study was conducted to determine if horse owners and managers, or the horses, had a preference for a specific hull color. To accomplish the first objective, a 13-question survey regarding oat use and preference among horse owners and managers was administered for 6 weeks through the University of Minnesota Horse Extension Team. The 801 survey respondents did not have a visual preference for white or yellow hulled oats (P =.89). For individuals who purchased oats, the most important quality was cleanliness, with color and test weight being the least important. The second objective consisted of two horse-feeding trials. The horses did express a preference for yellow hulled over white hulled oats (P <.0001). Although horse owners and managers did not indicate a color preference for oats, horses preferred yellow oats. The lack of preference from horse owners and managers suggests that others within the oat supply chain are driving the market to categorize white oats as the premium horse feed. Highlights • It is currently believed that horse owners prefer white hulled oats. • When choosing oats, horse owners are most concerned with cleanliness, not color. • Horse owners did not indicate a preference for either yellow or white hulled oats. • Horses preferred yellow hulled oats over white hulled oats. • Owner and horse preference for white hulled oats were not validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continental cropping systems are increasingly exposed to extreme and opposing trends of temperatures over the same growing season. This situation is epitomized by winter barley grown in the Upper Midwest, which is subject to temperatures that can be as low as −30 °C during the winter and over 30 °C during summer. This interaction severely limits the potential of this emerging crop, by threatening the winter survival of the crown which is often exposed to lethal freezing stress and by exposing reproductive organs to high temperature (HT) stress, to which this cool-season grass is highly sensitive. This poses a unique challenge that requires the discovery and capture of well-defined sets of traits enabling adaptation to extreme tail ends of a stressor, with limited trade-offs, while minimizing costs. Here, based on a critical literature review, we propose a framework integrating i) environmental characterization (envirotyping), ii) envirotype-relevant scouting of genetic resources, iii) ecophysiology-informed trait identification and phenotyping and iv) breeding pipelines. We outline propositions and guidelines for implementing these steps and discuss their feasibility, with an emphasis on i) identifying novel genetic resources and eco-physiological traits relevant to this problem, ii) navigating their physiological trade-offs and iii) leveraging this information to develop ad hoc phenotyping methods for deployment in breeding programs. Our review indicates that the eco-physiological and genetic bases for improving tolerance to both stresses in the same organism likely exists based on evidence from crop relatives and extremophile species, with smaller vasculature (freezing tolerance) and transpirational cooling (HT tolerance) being prime examples. Our findings indicate that such traits could be captured with minimal trade-offs, and that is possible to use similar phenotyping concepts (thermal imaging) and infrastructure (cold/heat tents) to screen for these traits and accelerate breeding to enhance adaptation to temperature extremes. • Temperature extremes limit winter barley yields grown in the Upper Midwest. • Freezing stress limits crown survival and heat stress limits reproductive development. • A trans-disciplinary framework is proposed to improve adaptation to both stressors. • Physiological/ genetic bases for adaptation to both stresses likely exists. • Possibility to use similar phenotyping infrastructure for promising traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat straw is a potential cellulosic feedstock for bioethanol. This study was conducted to evaluate straw yield potential and its relationship with grain yield for wheat ( Triticum spp.) grown in the United States. The specific objective was to determine if differences in straw yield and harvest index (HI) exist between and within regions and/or wheat classes. Using on-going variety performance trials in eight states, a total of 255 varietal trial entriess from five classes of wheat were surveyed for above-ground biomass. Averaged over all wheat classes and regions the HI was 0.45. Soft red winter wheat in Kentucky had, on average, the highest HI and lowest straw yield among regions and wheat classes. Soft white winter wheat under irrigation in the Pacific Northwest produced the highest straw yield. Hard red winter wheat in the southern plain states of Texas and Oklahoma had, on average, the lowest HI. Differences in the amount of precipitation and cultivars were the major contributors to the variation detected within wheat classes. The amount of wheat straw available as cellulosic feedstock in a state or wheat class can be estimated using the grain yield estimates provided by the National Agricultural Statistics Service and the class specific HI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]