Effect of date of sowing, nitrogen levels and time of cutting on growth, yield and economics of fodder oat (Avena sativa L.) under south Gujarat condition

Introduction

Livestock is an integral component of Indian agriculture and contributes significantly to fodder security and the rural economy. India possesses about 15 per cent of the world's livestock population, comprising 193.46 million cattle, 109.85 million buffaloes, 74.26 million sheep and 148.88 million goat and 9.06 million pigs (Anon., 2024a). The livestock sector contributed 4.66 per cent of the total GVA during 2022-23 (Anon., 2024b). However, the productivity of livestock is largely constrained by the inadequate availability of quality fodder. In India, only 4 per cent (8.4 million ha) of the cultivated land is devoted to fodder production (Dhamodharan et al., 2024) [6] . The country faces a net shortfall of 32.15 per cent green fodder, 10.99 per cent dry fodder and the availability of green fodder and dry fodder is 557.3 and 471.9 million tonnes, respectively. In Gujarat, the shortage of green and dry fodder is approximately 25 and 44 per cent, respectively (Anon., 2023). Therefore, increasing fodder productivity through improved agronomic practices has become essential for sustainable livestock production. The mismatch between demand and supply of fodder necessitates the development of appropriate strategies to ensure year-round availability of green fodder. Green fodder scarcity is particularly severe during the rabi season, emphasizing the need for high yielding and nutritious cereal fodder crops. Therefore, cultivation of fodder oat can play an important role in over coming winter fodder shortage and improving livestock productivity.

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is one of the most important rabi cereal fodder crops because of its rapid growth, high biomass production, excellent palatability and superior nutritional value. It contains approximately 6-7 per cent protein, 66 per cent carbohydrates and 11 percent fibre, making it an ideal fodder crop for dairy animals (Patel et al., 2022) [22] . Oat is widely cultivated as green fodder, hay and silage and plays an important role in alleviating fodder scarcity during the winter season. The productivity of fodder oat is greatly influenced by agronomic management practices such as date of sowing, nitrogen levels and time of cutting. Optimum sowing time ensures better crop establishment and biomass accumulation, while nitrogen promotes vegetative growth, tillering and dry matter production. Similarly, cutting at an appropriates stage improves forage yield and profitability. Although fodder oat is cultivated in different parts of India, information on the combined effect of these management practice under south Gujarat condition is limited. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to study the response of fodder oat to different sowing dates, nitrogen levels and time of cutting with special emphasis on fodder yield and economics under south Gujarat condition.

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted at the College Farm, N. M. College of Agriculture, Navsari Agricultural University (20.57′ N latitude and 72.54′ E longitude, at an altitude of 10 m above MSL), Navsari, Gujarat, India during rabi 2024-25. The soil of the experimental plot was clayey in texture (66.75%) with medium in organic carbon (0.54%), low in available nitrogen (198 kg ha -1 ) and medium in available phosphorous (33.09 kg ha -1 ), fairly rich in available potash (374.62 kg ha -1 ) having pH value of 7.80. Total twelve treatment combination comprised of two date of sowing (3 rd week of November and 1 st week of December), three nitrogen levels (60, 80 and 100 kg N ha -1 ) and two cutting time (cut at 55 and 70 DAS) tested in randomized block design with factorial concept, replicated thrice. Fodder oat variety Kent was used and sown at spacing 30 cm between two rows using a seed rate of 100 kg ha -1 on 21 st November, 2024 and 6 th December, 2024. A full dose of phosphorus was applied as a basal application and the nitrogen application was done in two equal splits at basal and 30 DAS as per treatment. Herbicide viz., pendimethalin 30% EC @ 1.0 kg a.i. ha -1 was applied as pre-emergence. Irrigation was applied in accordance with crop needs. Yield parameters were recorded at harvest and green and dry fodder yield were recorded from each net plot separately, than it converted into hectare with multiplying factor. Leafyness percentage was determined by taking a 1.0 kg fresh fodder sample at harvest from each net plots with using the formula: Leafyness (%) = (Leaf weight/Total plant weight) × 100. A one kg fresh fodder sample from each net plot was sun dried to determine dry fodder yield, which was also expressed as q ha -1 . The expenses incurred for all cultivation operations, from preparatory tillage to harvesting, including the costs of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and herbicides applied to each treatment, were calculated based on prevailing local charges. The gross return was calculated by multiplying the green fodder yield of oat from each treatment with the local market prices. The net return for each treatment was calculated by subtracting the total cost of cultivation from the gross return. B: C ratio was computed by dividing the gross return by the total cost of cultivation. The data collected from various parameters were analysis statistically to draw suitable interference as per the standard ANOVA techniques suggested by Panse and Sukhatme (1985) [21] .

Results and Discussion

Effect of date of sowing

The data in Table 1 showed that date of sowing caused significant variation in plant height at harvest, no. tillers m -1 row length at harvest, dry matter accumulation plant -1 , green fodder yield and dry fodder yield of fodder oat, except for plant height at 30 DAS and leafyness percentage at harvest. Fodder oat sown during 3 rd week of November recorded significantly higher plant height at harvest (72.39 cm) and number of tillers m -1 row length at harvest (128.29) over 1 st week of December. It was mainly due to favourable climatic conditions, efficient resource utilization and a longer growing period under early sowing, which promoted better vegetative growth and cell elongation resulting in better growth and tiller production. Similar findings have also been reported by Dar et al. (2014) [5] , Murali et al. (2021) [18] and Naveena et al. (2021) [20] in fodder oat. Non-significantly but numerically higher plant height at 30 DAS and leafyness percentage at harvest were also observed higher when oat sown during 3 rd week of November. The variation in leafyness percentage remained non-significant probably because of both the date of sowing provided relatively favourable conditions which maintained almost similar effect on leaf initiation, leaf expansion and stem development, resulting in comparable leafyness percentage. Moreover, leafyness percentage is more dependent on nutrient availability and stage of crop maturity than slight variation in sowing time, which might have resulted in nonsignificant differences between the two sowing dates.Oat sown during 3 rd week of November produced significantly higher dry matter accumulation (2.93 g plant -1 ) over sown during 1 st week of December. Dry matter accumulation was increase might be due to better temperature regime and suitable climatic conditions prevailing during entire growing season when crop was sown during 3 rd week of November (D 1 ) possibly efficient utilization of available resources such as moisture, nutrients and solar radiation may have promoted physiological and metabolic activities resulted in better leaf area development and vegetative growth. Further, it also enhanced the photosynthetic efficiency and accumulation of assimilates in plant tissues, which ultimately increase in dry matter production in fodder oat. This data is compatible with the result of Dar et al. (2014) [5] and Kumar et al. (2021) [11] . Green and dry fodder yield of 237.58 and 68.07 q ha -1 , respectively were recorded significantly higher with the fodder oat sown during 3 rd week of November as compare to sown during 1 st week of December. The per cent increase in green and dry fodder yield of fodder oat sown during 3 rd week of November over 1 st week of December were 9.67 and 9.65%, respectively. Higher fodder yield under D 1 may be attributed to the cumulative effect of improved growth and yield attributing characters such as plant height, number of tillers m -1 row length and dry matter accumulation plant -1 under favourable climatic conditions. These results corroborate the findings of Jehangir et al. (2013) [8] , Dar et al. (2014) [5] , Jat et al. (2015) [7] , Midha et al. (2015) [16] , Kumawat et al. (2017) [14] , Kadam et al. (2019) [9] , Kumar et al. (2021) [11] and Kumar et al. (2023) [12] in early sowing of fodder oat. The gross return (₹ 95,032 ha -1 ), net return (₹ 56,630 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.47) was found higher in fodder oat sown during 3 rd week of November. Whereas, lower gross return (₹ 86,656 ha -1 ), net return (₹ 48,250 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.26) were recorded in 1 st week of December sowing. The higher monetary return and B:C ratio with 3 rd week of November sown crop was due to higher green fodder yield produce under the same treatment. Similar trend was found by Jehangir et al. (2013) [8] and Samal et al. (2023) [24] .

Effect of nitrogen levels

The data furnished in Table 1 showed that different nitrogen levels resulted in significant variation in plant height at harvest, no. of tillers m -1 row length at harvest, leafyness percentage at harvest, dry matter accumulation plant -1 , green fodder yield and dry fodder yield, except the plant height at 30 DAS. An application of 100 kg N ha -1 recorded significantly higher plant height (73.83 cm) at harvest, which was statistically comparable with 80 kg N ha -1 over application of 60 kg N ha -1 . Plant height at 30 DAS was also noted higher under the same treatment. Increase in plant height at harvest with increase in the nitrogen fertilizer might be due to the fact that nitrogen plays an important role in cell division and multiplication which helps in promotes the number of internodes and increasing length of the internodes ultimate it resulting in taller plants. These findings are in line with the results of Midha et al. (2015) [16] , Naveena et al. (2021) [20] , Sarkar et al. (2022) [25] , Kumar et al. (2023) [12] and Yadav et al. (2023) [28] . The number of tillers m -1 row length at harvest (133.58) was also recorded significantly the highest with an application of 100 kg N ha -1 over rest of the nitrogen levels. This might be attributed due to appropriate dose of nitrogen application enhance the photosynthetic activity, leading to increased synthesis of protoplasmic constituents and accelerated cell division and elongation. Furthru, it also favoured better development of auxiliary buds and tiller initiation, thereby resulting in higher number of tillers m -1 row length in oat. The outcomes are consistent with Dar et al. (2014) [5] , Midha et al. (2015) [16] , Satpal et al. (2018) [26] , Naveena et al. (2021) [20] , Pravalika and Gaikwad (2021) [23] , Kumar et al. (2023) [12] and Yadav et al. (2023) [28] . Leafyness percentage increasing with each successive increase in nitrogen levels and it (75.34%) was recorded significantly the highest under the application of 100 kg N ha -1 over 60 kg N ha -1 . The maximum leafyness percentage under higher nitrogen levels may be because of nitrogen being an essential constituent of proteins and chlorophyll encouraged rapid cell division, leaf initiation and leaf expansion, resulting in the development of tender and succulent foliage. Further, nitrogen supply also improves metabolic activities and delayed leaf senescence, thereby increasing leaf proportion and ultimately improving leafyness percentage in the crop. An application of nitrogen levels significantly influences the dry matter accumulation of fodder oat. Dry matter accumulation (3.43 g plant -1 ) was also recorded significantly higher with an application of 100 kg N ha -1 over 60 kg N ha -1 (2.09 g plant -1 ). The dry matter accumulation was increased under higher nitrogen levels because of adequate nitrogen supply promoted the formation of healthy and active foliage, which increase photosynthetic surface area and accumulation of carbohydrates other organic compounds in plant tissues ultimately led to greater biomass production and dry matter accumulation in fodder oat. This data is compatible with the result of Dar et al. (2014) [5] , Kumar et al. (2017) [10] , Kumar et al. (2021) [11] and Sarkar et al. (2022) [25] . The data present in Table 1 clearly indicated that each successive increase in nitrogen levels significantly enhanced the green and dry fodder yield of oat. An application of 100 kg N ha -1 produced significantly the highest green fodder yield of 248.08 q ha -1 and dry fodder yield of 76.44 q ha -1 over 60 kg N ha -1 . The percentage increase in the green and dry fodder yield of oat was up to the tune of 20.90 and 40.38 per cent under the application of 100 kg N ha - 1 over 60 kg N ha -1 . The improvement in green and dry fodder yield under higher nitrogen levels may be because of nitrogen plays a vital role in promoting vigorous vegetative growth and improving various growth and yield attributes of fodder oat viz., plant height, number of tillers m -1 row length, leafyness percentage and dry matter accumulation plant -1 , which collectively contributed towards increased green and dry biomass production. These assertions are similar with the findings of Jehangir et al. (2013) [8] , Satpal et al. (2018) [26] , Kadam et al.

(2019) [9] , Kumar et al. (2019) [13] , Pravalika and Gaikwad (2021) [23] , Patel et al. (2022) [22] , Sarkar et al. (2022) [25] , Kumar et al.

(2023) [12] , Nanda and Nilanjaya (2023) [19] and Yadav et al.

(2023) [28] . The data presented in Table 2 revealed that an application of 100 kg N ha -1 was registered maximum the gross return (₹ 99,232 ha - 1 ), net return (₹ 59,526 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.50) whereas, the lower gross return (₹ 82,080 ha -1 ), net return (₹ 42,897 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.09) recorded under application of 60 kg N ha -1 . These might be due to higher level of nitrogen application increasing the yield and ultimately the income. These findings are parallel to the earlier findings reported by Satpal et al. (2018) [26] , Patel et al.

(2022) [22] , Nanda and Nilanjaya (2023) [19] and Kumar et al.

Effect of time of cutting

Different time of cutting had substantial impact on plant height at harvest, leafyness percentage, dry matter accumulation plant -foot_0 , green fodder yield and dry fodder yield of oat, except the plant height at 30 DAS and number of tillers m -1 row length at harvest (Table 1). The plant height at harvest (77.29 cm) was recorded significantly higher when fodder oat cut at 70 DAS as compare to cut at 55 DAS. This might be due to the longer growth duration available to the crop without any interruption of physiological activities, which enhanced vegetative development and better internodal elongation ultimately resulted in higher plant height. Similar type of result was also reported by Sharma and Bhunia (2001) [27] , Malik et al. (2015) [15] , Pravalika and Gaikwad (2021) [23] and Patel et al. (2022) [22] in fodder oat. Non-significant difference was observed in case of number of tillers m -1 row length at harvest due to different time of cutting. This may be because of tiller production is primarily determined during early vegetative growth stage and less influenced by variation in cutting time. These findings are in agreement with the results of Malik et al. (2015) [15] in fodder oat. Cutting of fodder oat at 55 DAS recorded significantly higher leafyness percentage at harvest (73.28%) as compare to cutting at 70 DAS (71.62%). This might be due to the fact that crop remained in the field for a longer duration as the cutting at 70 DAS more assimilates and photosynthates might have been utilized for stem growth, structural development and fibre accumulation, resulting in comparatively lower leaf proportion. Moreover, advancement in crop age also promotes stem thickening and internodal elongation, thereby decreasing the leaf-stem ratio and ultimately reducing leafyness percentage. In contrast, dry matter accumulation (3.14 g plant -1 ) was recorded significantly higher under cutting at 70 DAS over cutting at 55 DAS (2.35 g plant -1 ). This may be attributed due to longer crop growth duration available under cutting at 70 DAS allowed the crop to intercept solar radiation for a longer duration and more translocation of nutrients and carbohydrates from source to sink contributed to increased deposition of dry matter in plant tissue. These results are in conformity with those of Kumar et al. (2017) [10] . Cutting at 70 DAS produced significantly higher green and dry fodder yield of oat of 247.97 and 72.02 q ha -1 , respectively as compare to cutting at 55 DAS. There was 20.22 and 23.92 per cent increasing in green fodder and dry fodder yield, respectively, under the cutting of oat at 70 DAS over at 55 DAS. The higher green fodder yield under cutting at 70 DAS may be attributed due to the crop remained in active growth phase for a longer duration, resulting in increased plant height, number of tillers, dry matter accumulation etc., all together ultimately resulted in higher green fodder yield. Higher green fodder yield coupled with higher dry matter accumulation resulted in higher dry fodder yield under same treatment. These findings pertaining to fodder yield are in accordance with the results reported by Sharma and Bhunia (2001) [27] , Jehangir et al. (2013) [8] , Monika et al. (2018) [17] , Kadam et al. (2019) [9] , Patel et al. (2022) [22] and Bhakuni et al.

(2025) [4] . Cutting of fodder oat at 70 DAS incurred higher gross return (₹ 99,188 ha -1 ), net return (₹ 60,786 ha -1 ) and B:C ratio (2.58) than cutting at 55 DAS (Table 2). The higher economic returns under cutting at 70 DAS may be due to higher green fodder yield without any appreciable increase in the cost of cultivation. These findings are parallel to the earlier findings reported by Jehangir et al. (2013) [8] and Patel et al. (2022) [22] .

Conclusion

On the basis of one year experiment, it can be concluded that sowing of fodder oat during the 3 rd week of November increase all growth and yield attributes, yield and economic returns. Moreover, application of 100 kg N ha -1 produced higher plant height, number of tillers m -1 row length, leafyness percentage, dry matter accumulation plant -1 , green and dry fodder yield as well as economic returns. Cutting of fodder oat at 70 DAS proved superior in improving plant height, dry matter accumulation plant -

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