Plant · P-680

Naked Oat

Avena nuda

Naked oat is a hull-less form of oat whose grain threshes free of its husk on its own, which makes it worth growing at a scale that would never justify separate dehulling equipment. Losing the hull raises the feed value sharply - noticeably more protein, starch and energy than ordinary oats - and lets it be fed in quantity to pigs and poultry that struggle to digest a hulled grain. The tradeoff is a lower yield than hulled oats and a seed left exposed on the head, which birds will take unless the stand is netted.