Abstract The production of economically important cereals is accompanied by the phenomenon of sprouting which in naked cultivars may limit their reproduction and usability. The objective of the work is to evaluate the susceptibility to sprouting in naked oat cultivars, and to test the usefulness of sprouting indices. In the years 2008–2010 for seeds of 8 cultivars, differing in the degree of sprouting damage, the coefficient of sprouting (Cs) was determined. Germinability (GF), dynamics (GD) and average germination time (GAT) were determined for seeds germinating in the presence of abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellic acid (GA3) and under control conditions. Basing on the falling number (FN) in consecutive days of the sprouting induction, alpha-amylase activity was determined. The highest values of Cs were found in 2008, the year with the highest total rainfall and temperature. In the presence of ABA the GF decreased by 21%, the GAT was 4.7 days longer, and the GD decreased by 55% compared with other substrates. An increase in alpha-amylase activity contributed to a 50%, on average, decrease in FN at 10°C and 30°C after 48 and 24 h of incubation, respectively. In the analyzed years the greatest resistance to sprouting was found for Bullion seeds.