Ecotypic variation in Avena fatua L., A. sterilis L. (A. ludoviciana), and A. barbata Pott. in New South Wales and southern Queensland

Abstract

Some 53 samples of wild oat seeds were collected in the wheat belt of eastern Australia in an area extending from Collingulie in southern New South Wales to Dalby in Queensland and grown under uniform environmental conditions. Three species of wild oats were collected, Avena sterilis L. subsp. ludoviciana (Dur.) G. & M. mainly concentrated in the north, A. fatua L. subsp. fatua (L.) Thell. mainly concentrated in the south, and A. barbata Pott. confined to the Southern Tablelands and nearby slopes and plains.

A high degree of physiological and morphological variability was evident, A. sterilis exhibiting the greatest variability and A. barbata the least. The variation was mainly local with only a suggestion of ecoclinal variation, and is probably the result of multiple introductions. The two samples of A. barbata tested exhibited a vernalization requirement for flowering and one sample of A. sterilis from the same area also gave a strong response to vernalization, but A. fatua did not.