Oats (Avena sativa):A potential winter fodder crop for better livestock production

Abstract

Oat is a multipurpose, popular, nutritionally rich cereal crop used globally for food, feed, and fodder. In India, fodder oats cover approximately 0.25 million hectares of area, with the maximum acreage in Uttar Pradesh (34%), followed by Punjab (20%), Bihar (16%), Haryana (9%), and Madhya Pradesh (6%). Its cultivation area has now extended to the eastern regions due to better adaptability, nutritional superiority and excellent feed and fodder values. It is a unique crop being cultivated as single cut, multicut and dual purpose and best suited in cool-season climates. The fodder yield can be enhanced significantly by adopting recently released high yielding varieties and better agronomic management practices, viz. seed rate and sowing time, water, weed and nutrient management.