2. Common name: Oat
Oat: (Avena sativa)
Other names: Javi, jai,jodar
Kingdom : Plantae
Order : Polaes
Family : Poaceae
Genus Avena
Species: A.sativa
Binomial name : Avena sativa L
3. The area under various fodder crops in the country is estimated as 2.312
million hectares and annual fodder production 51.925 million ton. The
average fodder production is 22.5 tons per hectare (ha-1) which is as well
low to meet even half of the preservation ration of 154.6 million heads of
livestock in the country. In Pakistan, very little work on the development of
fodder oat varieties has been undertaken. Oat production in Pakistan 60-
80 tons per hac-1.
Oats is an important winter cereal fodder grown widely for forage
production. It can be cut and fed to animals or can be grazed; it can also be
preserved in the form of hay or silage. Oats grown in mixture with berseem
give an early cut as well as providing protection to the young berseem
seedlings during cold temperatures. It gives higher fodder yields than other
winter cereals such as wheat and barley. Similarly, it is more palatable than
wheat and barley because of the high number of leaves and soft stems.
4. Top Ten Oat Producer 2013-14 Thousand Metric Tons
Russia 4,027
Canada 2,680
Poland 1,439
Finland 1,159
Australia 1,050
United states 929
Spain 799
United kingdom 784
Sweden 776
Germany 668
World Total 20,723
5. Oat is an important winter fodder under irrigated conditions either as sole
crop, or sown together with barseem. Oat is a single-cut crop and supplies
fodder over a shorter period than does berseem. The oat plant contains
Protein 9.23%, Fat 3.56%, Fiber 30.44%,Calcium 0.82% and phosphorus
0.27%.
The leaves and grain are high in carotene and carbohydrates. Oat provide
nutrious fodder in the dry month of May, and are relished by all animals,
particularly horses and mules. When mixed with barseem, Oat provide
balance feed to milk animals.
6. For early fodder production both in the plain areas and mountainous areas
best planting time is 20th September- October. Fodder will be available in
November- December. However, late planting can continue till December
but fodder production will start in March.
Prepare fine seed bed by 2-3 ploughings and smoothing/ leveling with
planking or appropriate implement.
Sowing method
Line sowing 30 cm apart is preferred or broad cast.
Soil
All types of soil but prefers clay and loamy soils.
7. Fertilizer
15-20 tons/ha farmyard manure before land preparation. One bag of 50
kgs ,DAP +one bag urea at sowing and half bag urea/ha. after every cutting.
Irrigation
First irrigation 20 days after sowing and subsequent irrigations depend on
temperature and weather.
Diseases
Mainly aphids and leaf hoppers (jassids) attack the crop. In case of heavy
infestation on seed crop, use an appropriate chemical spray.
Varieties/cultivars
1= Kompasberg
2= Sederberg
3= Overberg
4= Heros
5= SSH 405
6= SSH 491
7= Pallinup
8=PD2 LV65,
9=Swan,
10=Avon
11=S-81,
12=Cuscade,
13=Scott,
14=Tibour
8. Cutting stage/ Time of Harvesting
Cutting stage mainly determines the ultimate fodder yields and its quality. With the
increase in age, maturity, or cutting stage, nutritive value and palatability of the
harvested fodder decreases. To obtain the best compromise between fodder yield
and quality, the crop should be harvested at late vegetative stage. At this stage
regeneration, palatability, and quality is higher than at 50 % or 100 % heading and
also 1-2 extra cuttings and hence more fodder can be obtained.
Cutting height
The crop should always be harvested at least 4 inches from the ground
level to facilitate quick regrowth.
The approved cultivars have a fodder yield potential of 75-80 kg t/ha, there
seed yield varies from 1-2 t/ha.