Small, black or bristle oat is a historical crop, which has been widely grown across Europe since the Bronze Age. Until the seventeenth century it was the main oat species grown on the British Isles. Until the beginning of the twentieth century it was cultivated on poor soils in Scotland, in the Iberian Peninsula and in numerous European countries. Sadly, it has seen a significant decline in recent years and largely disappeared from the northern parts of the continent. Its decline has been largely linked to the increase of use and cultivation of the common oat (Avena sativa). Currently, black oat is grown in Brazil, the temperate areas of Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and the tropical high altitude areas in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru as a winter season cover crop. Black oat is also used in the southeastern United States, Hawaii, and Arizona for forage, pasture and as a cover crop. The largest remaining areas of its cultivation in the UK can be now found on the farmed Machair of North and South Uist, and Benbecula, with smaller areas of cultivation spread over Lewis and Harris, Tiree and Islay.
On the Northern Isles, Avena strigosa is known as 'Shetland oats' or 'aets', and is used mainly as a winter feed for animals. In Shetland, the oat straw is also used for making traditional straw baskets, known as “kishies”, thatching and for the straw backs of Fair Isle chairs. On Orkney its occurrence is associated with the traditional Orkney chairs for which the black oats provide strong straw of a distinct colour.
As a crop, small oats are grown on light, alkaline soils, usually in a mixture with rye and/or bere barley. Avena strigosa is an annual, self-pollinating crop, and the supply of seeds can be limited. This means that the areas where the crop is still being cultivated often have to be self-reliant in terms of supply. Overall, it is considered as a relatively easy to grow crop, but when cultivated on a small scale, the seed is often completely eaten out by birds or pests.
Black oat can be sown in early spring or in the autumn. The seeds ripen in late summer and, when harvested and dried, can be stored for several years. They have a floury texture and a mild, creamy flavour and can be used as a staple food crop in either savoury or sweet dishes. The seed can be cooked whole, though it is more commonly ground into a flour and used as a cereal in all the ways that oats are used, especially as a porridge but also to make biscuits, oatcakes, bread etc. The seed can also be sprouted and eaten raw or cooked in salads, stews etc. The roasted seed can become a coffee substitute.
Global climate change implicates search for alternative crops that will be more stable in yielding in conditions of increased temperature and drought stress, will also be less resource-dependent, resistant to pathogens and pests, and will be rich in nutrients. One of these alternative crops may become Avena strigosa.
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