All accessions of the above-mentioned cultivated species were analysed by their diverse morphological and agricultural traits at the fields of VIR Experimental Stations network from 20-s till nowadays. The research was based on the Field Guidelines and the COMECON International Descriptors of Avena L. (1984). All this information is maintained in field registers (in written form in Russian, but not in electronic form).

As usual we have been evaluated following field agronomic characters:

• Duration of vegetative period (germination-heading, heading-harvest),
• Type of bush,
• Drought resistance,
• Lodging resistance,
• Diseases resistance: crown rust, stem rust, powdery mildew, loose smut, covered smut, leaf stripe, halo blight, septoria leaf blotch, BYDV, etc.,
• Plant height,
• Productive tillering,
• Panicle characters: length, number of spikelets, density of spikelets, number of grains,
• Weight of grains: per main panicle, per plant, per plot,
• Weight of 1000 grains,
• Grain husk percent,
• Green mass yield per plot, etc.

VIR collection of wild and weedy Avena L. species harbours about 2 000 accessions representing the whole geographic diversity of all known species (21 spp.) with different ploidy levels, which belong to the subsection Euavena (Griseb.).
Initially, the whole collection was evaluated by morphological characters associated with the caryopsis, i.e. such traits of the lemma were identified as colour, hairiness of lemma and colour of pubescence. These characters continue the homological series in variation observed in different species of cultivated oat and have a wide scope of variability in wild species.
At the same time, these traits are extremely important for preserving purity of such accessions during storage and regeneration. Specifying characteristics of the lemma in the first phase may replace botanical varieties, which are so important for cultivated species. Additional research was conducted on morphological characters, agricultural properties and electrophoretic spectra of storage proteins (avenine). All data were processed by means of cluster analysis.
All these data were used in taxonomic research, while a number of morphological traits and storage protein (avenine) spectra were involved in the bases of the process of selecting accessions for core collections.
This work included such agricultural characters, as duration of the vegetation period, plant height, resistance to various pathogens (crown and stem rust, BYDV, Helmintisporium, Septoria, mildew and etc.), response to vernalization and photoperiodism and qualitative grain parameters (composition and content of proteins and oils), several morphological traits having great intraspecific variability (panicle length, length of the lower lemma, etc.), as well as storage protein (avenine) spectra. Besides, we took into account the presence of identified genes of various traits in the accessions (Loskutov et al., 1997).

1. Malzev A.I. 1930. Ovsyugi i ovsy. Sectio Euavena Griseb. (Wild and Cultivated Oats. Sectio Euavena Griseb.). Works of Applied Botany and Plant Breeding. Supplement no.38, (russ., engl.).
2. Mordvinkina A.I. 1934. Oats of Anatolia. In: Zhukovsky P.M. Zemledelcheskaya Turtziya. (Aziatskaya chast - Anatolia). (Agricultural Anatolia). M.-L., 907 p. (russ., engl.).
3. Mordvinkina A.I. 1935. Oat breeding. In: Teoreticheskie osnovy selektzii rastenii. Chastnaya selektziya zernovykh kormovykh kultur. (Theoretical bases of plant breeding. Special part. Grain and forage crops). v.II. M.-L., 712 p. (russ.).
4. Mordvinkina A.I. 1936. Oats. In: Kulturnaya flora SSSR. Khlebnye zlaki. Rozh, Yachmen, Oves. (Cultivated flora of the USSR. Grain cereals. Rye, Barley, Oats). v.2., M.-L., 147 p. (russ.).
5. Mordvinkina A.I. 1938. Oats. In: Rukovodstvo po aprobatzii kulturnykh rastenii. Zernovye kultury. (Cultivated plant trials. Cereals). v.1, M.-L., 510 p. (russ.).
6. Mordvinkina A.I., Rodionova N.A. 1976. Oats. In: Rukovodstvo po aprobatzii kulturnykh rastenii. Zernovye i bobovye kultury. (Cultivated plant trials. Cereals and legumes). Kolos, M., 376 p. (russ.).
7. Petropavlovsky M.T. 1931. Vozdelyvaemye ovsy SSSR. (Cultivated oats of USSR). Suppl. 45-th of the "Works of applied botany, genetics and plant breeding". Leningrad., 138 p. (russ.)
8. Rodionova N.A., Soldatov V.N., Merezhko V.E. 1988. Genetics of oat. In: Genetika kulturnykh rastenii. Kukuruza, krupyanye, oves. (Genetics of cultivated plants. Maize, small grain, oats). Leningrad., 276 p. (russ.).
9. Rodionova N.A., Soldatov V.N., Merezhko V.E., Yarosh N.P., Kobylyansky V.D. 1994. Kulturnaya flora SSSR. Oves. (Cultivated flora of the USSR. Oat). v.2, part.3, Kolos, M., 367 p. (russ.).
10. Vavilov N.I. 1935. Teoreticheskie osnovy selektzii rastenii. Obshaya selektziya rastenii. (Theoretical bases of plant breeding. General principles of plant breeding). v.I. M.-L., 1043 p. (russ.).
11. Vavilov N.I. 1959. Izbrannye trudy. Zemledelcheskii Afganistan. (Selected works. (Agricultural Afghanistan). v.1. USSR Academy of science press, M.-L., 416 p. (russ.).
12. Vavilov N.I. 1960. Izbrannye trudy. Problemy selektzii, rol Evrazii i Novogo Sveta v proiskhozhdenii kulturnykh rastenii. (Selected works. The problems of breeding, the role of EurAsia and New World in origin of cultivated plants). v.2. USSR Academy of science press, M.-L., 520 p. (russ.).
13. Vavilov N.I. 1962. Izbrannye trudy. Problemy geografii, filogenii i selektzii pshenitzy i pzhi. Rastitelnye resursy i voprosy sistematiki kulturnykh rastenii. (Selected works. (The problems of geography, taxonomy and breeding of wheat and rye. Plant resources and problems taxonomy of cultivated plants). v.3. USSR Academy of science press, M.-L., 532 p. (russ.).
14. Vavilov N.I. 1964a. Izbrannye trudy (Selected works). v.4, Problemy immuniteta kulturnykh rastenii. (The problems of immunity of cultivated plants). USSR Academy of science press, M.-L., 518 p. (russ.).
15. Vavilov N.I. 1965. Izbrannye trudy. Problemy proiskhozhdeniya, geografii, genetiki, selektzii rastenii, rastenievodstva i agronomii. (Selected works. The probles of origin, geography, genetic, breeding of plants, plant industry and agronomy). v.5. USSR Academy of science press, M.-L., 788 p. (russ.).

Research Bulletin of VIR, fasc.57-58. 1976
Research Bulletin of VIR, fasc.117. 1981. Rye and fodder grain crops.
Research Bulletin of VIR, fasc.169. 1987. Rye and fodder grain crops.
Research Bulletin of VIR, fasc.201. 1990. Rye and fodder grain crops.
Research Bulletin of VIR, fasc.226. 1992. Rye and fodder grain crops.

Works of applied botany, genetics and plant breeding, v.39, n.3, 1969.
Works of applied botany, genetics and plant breeding, v.50, n.4, 1973.
Works of applied botany, genetics and plant breeding, v.55, n.3, 1975.
Works of applied botany, genetics and plant breeding, v.73, 1982. Rye and fodder grain crops.
Works of applied botany, genetics and plant breeding, v.129, 1989. Rye and fodder grain crops.
Works of applied botany, genetics and plant breeding, v.138, 1991. Rye and fodder grain crops.
Works of applied botany, genetics and plant breeding, v.151, 1997. Rye and fodder grain crops.

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.128. L. 1974. 22pp.
Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.149. L. 1975. 42pp.
(They consist results of evaluation for following character of oat under Belorussia conditions in 1972)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.269. L. 1980. 214pp.
Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.346. L. 1982. 82pp.
(They consist results of evaluation for following character of oat under Ukraine conditions in 1970-1976)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.392. L. 1983. 205pp.
(It consists results of evaluation for following character of oat under Belorussia and Russia (Vyatka city, Moscow and St.Petersburg) conditions in 1973-1980)

List of registered cultivars of the USSR with storage protein marker formulas. L. 1987. 14 pp.
(It consists electrophoretic spectra of storage proteins (avenine) formulas for 78 commercial cultivars of oat.)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.479. L. 1989. 30pp.
Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.492. L. 1989. 146pp.
(They consist results of evaluation for following character of oat under Ural mountain, Moscow and St.Petersburg conditions in 1981-1986)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.558. L. 1990. 31pp.
(It consists results of evaluation of 119 oat accessions for their response to photoperiodism under plant vegetation experiment conditions in St.Petersburg and natural conditions in Mexico (Guanohuato st.)).

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.587. L. 1991. 54pp.
(It consists results of evaluation for following character of oat under Ural mountain region (Tyumen city) conditions in 1985-1987)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.633. St-P. 1992. 105pp.
(It consists results of evaluation for following character of oat under East Siberia and Far East conditions in 1982-1986)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.659. St-P. 1994. 48pp.
(It consists results of evaluation for following character of oat under Volga river region conditions in 1977-1992)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.662. St-P. 1994. 55pp.
(It consists results of evaluation for following character of oat under West Siberia conditions in 1988-1990)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.667. St-P. 1995. 39pp.
(It consists results of evaluation for following character of oat under Moscow reginon conditions in 1979-1989)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc.686. (Gene stock collection with genes controlling biological, morphological, biochemical and agricultural characters). St-P. 1997. 83pp. (russ.)
(It consists of reference information about more than 250 accessions and cultivars of oat and more than 530 entries with different identified alleles of genes. It contains Introduction, List of gene stock collection, Alphabetic list of accession of gene stock collection and Reference.)

Catalogue of world collection VIR. Oat. Fasc. 704.
(Characteristic of grain of wild species accessions for protein content, its amino acid composition and oil content, its fatty acid composition under Leningrad region conditions. Protein formula of oats for avenin electrophoretic spectra). St-P. 1999. 44pp. (russ.)

Main results of oat evaluations which were published in English:

Loskutov I.G. On the taxonomy of genus Avena L. Proc. XVI International Botanical Congress, USA, 1999, p.422.

Loskutov I.G. Influence of vernalization and photoperiod to the vegetation period of wild species of oats (Avena spp.) (In press)

Loskutov I.G. The problems of maintenance of plant genetic recourses and intra-specific taxonomy of plants. (In press)

Loskutov I.G., Perchuk I.N. Evaluation of interspecific diversity in Avena genus by RAPD analysis. (In press)

Loskutov I.G., Soldatov V.N. Distribution of wild and weedy oat species in the Caucasus, USSR. FAO/IBPGR, Plant Genetic Resour. Newsletter, 1991, N 86.

Loskutov I.G., Soldatov V.N., Merezhko V.E. Evaluation of cultivated and wild oat species for tolerant to BYDV. Oat Newsletter, 1990, v.41.

Loskutov I.G. Wild species of oats from USSR as an initial material for plant breeding. Proc. 4-th Inter. Oat Conference, Australia, 1992, v.III, 1993.

Loskutov I.G. Introduction to VIR's Oat collection: documentation, characterization and evaluation. IBPGR, Report Working Group on Avena, 4-th meeting, Hungary, 1993.

Loskutov I.G., Soldatov V.N. Evaluation of wild and cultivated species of oats from VIR collection. Oat Newsletters, 1995, v.43.

Loskutov I.G. Some historical aspects of VIR Avena L. world collection. Proc.2-nd Inter. Crop Science Congress, India, 1996.

Loskutov I.G. The collection of wild oat species of C.I.S. as a source of diversity in agricultural traits. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, v.45, 4, 1998.

Loskutov I.G. Unconventional method for determining groat-oil content in oats. Oat Newsletter, 1998, v.44.

Loskutov I.G. Establishment of the Core Collection of Avena Wild species. IBPGR, Report Working Group on Avena, 5-th meeting, Lithuania, 1998.

Loskutov I.G. Database and Taxonomy of VIR World Collection of Genus Avena L. IBPGR, Report Working Group on Avena, 5-th meeting, Lithuania, 1998.

Loskutov I.G. Ongoing evaluation of VIR Oat Collection. IBPGR, Report Working Group on Avena, Avena, 5-th meeting, Lithuania, 1998.