Abstract
Deficit of the feed and fodder availability of the desired quality has been considered as the major bottleneck in harnessing the potential of the livestock sector in India. With the objective to find out the suitable variety of oat for getting maximum seed yield, a field experiment was conducted during rabi season of 2007 to 2008 at JNKVV, Jabalpur (MP). The treatments consisted of six varieties of oat (Kent, UPO 2005-1, NDO-1, JO 2003-78, OS-6 and JHO-822). The results showed that the variety NDO-1 produced the highest number of tillers/m2, panicle weight and 1000 grain weight which resulted into higher seed yield (3.64 t/ha) than other varieties followed by Kent (3.52 t/ha) whereas, the variety OS-6 recorded lowest (2.86 t/ha) but its variation with JO 2003-78 (2.95 t/ha), UPO 2005-1 (3.10 t/ha) and JHO-822 (3.18 t/ha) was not significant. The straw yield was higher under variety OS-6 (10.62 t/ha) compared to other varieties. Growth parameters such as crop growth rate, relative growth rate and leaf area index were superior for variety NDO-1. NDO-1 recorded highest benefit-cost ratio (2.84), which was due to high gross as well as net monetary returns obtained. Key words: Avena sativa L., benefit-cost ratio, forage dry matter, oat varieties, net monetary returns, yield.
Highlights
Livestock production is the backbone of Indian agriculture contributing 7% to national GDP and source of employment and ultimate livelihood for 70% population in rural areas
The results showed that the variety NDO-1 produced the highest number of tillers/m2, panicle weight and 1000 grain weight which resulted into higher seed yield (3.64 t/ha) than other varieties followed by Kent (3.52 t/ha) whereas, the variety OS-6 recorded lowest (2.86 t/ha) but its variation with JO 2003-78 (2.95 t/ha), UPO 2005-1 (3.10 t/ha) and JHO-822 (3.18 t/ha) was not significant
The results showed that the variety UPO 2005-1 had significantly taller plants (135.2 cm) than others, followed by JO 2003-78 (126.4 cm), OS-6 (125.45 cm), Kent (124.35 cm) and JHO-822 (122.45 cm) which had almost similar plant height (Table 1)
Summary
Livestock production is the backbone of Indian agriculture contributing 7% to national GDP and source of employment and ultimate livelihood for 70% population in rural areas. Most of the fodder crops are grown under irrigated situations except in areas, which receive adequate winter rains Under such situations where water supply is limited and the farmers are not in a position to grow the crops having high water requirement such as lucerne and berseem, oat can grow successfully, which provides energy rich nutritious and palatable fodder for livestock. The livestock grain feed is still the primary use of oat crops, accounting for an average of around 74% of the world’s total usage (Welch, 1995) It can be fed in any form like green forage or silage to the animals covering the scarcity period of the year. Keeping all the above facts in view, the present investigation was undertaken with the objective to identify oat varieties with superior seed yield for livestock production
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