Research Article
Effects of Sowing Time on Agronomic Traits, Yield and Nutritive Quality of Fodder Oat at Dodola and Kofele Districts of West Arsi Zone of Oromia, Ethiopia
Issue:
Volume 5, Issue 3, September 2025
Pages:
33-42
Received:
5 June 2025
Accepted:
24 June 2025
Published:
21 July 2025
Abstract: To tackle the feed shortage, fodder oat is one of improved fodder crops highly recognized mainly in the highland areas. However, the performance of fodder oat sown in different time vary in yield and quality parameters and hence identifying the proper time of sowing date is critical for production of high biomass and quality fodder oat. Thus, the study was conducted to determine the appropriate sowing time of oat. Accordingly five sowing times (mid-June, late June to early July, mid-July, late July to early August and mid-August) were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The results indicated that sowing time had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on plant height and number of tillers per plant. Leaf to stem ratio was significantly (p < 0.05) affected due to sowing time only at Kofele site. Dry matter (DM) and seed yield were also significantly (p < 0.05) different among sowing time at both sites with the maximum yield recorded at early sowing time. The maximum DM yield (7.5 t/ha to 13.9 t/ha) was recorded from oat sown in mid-June followed by oat sown in late June to early July (8.0 t/ha to 10.8 t/ha) at both sites, while the lowest DM yield (1.13 to 3.3 t/ha) were obtained from oat sown in mid-August. Likewise, the highest seed yield (20.1 to 22.8 qt/ha) were recorded from oat sown in mid-June followed by (18.9 qt/ha to 21.8 qt/ha) in late June to early July while the least seed yield (4.1 qt/ha to 4.8 qt/ha) produced from oat sown in mid-August. The higher yield in earlier sowing time may be due to the good weather conditions that prevailed during the earlier sowing period which favors for plant height and number of tillers per plants. On the other hands, ADF and CP contents of oat were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by sowing times. Therefore, it can be concluded that sowing oat from mid-June to early July is recommended to maximize both the yield and nutritive value of oats in the study areas. To minimize the risks of lodging while sustaining high yield performance, further study is required on agronomic management and to select lodging tolerant oat varieties.
Abstract: To tackle the feed shortage, fodder oat is one of improved fodder crops highly recognized mainly in the highland areas. However, the performance of fodder oat sown in different time vary in yield and quality parameters and hence identifying the proper time of sowing date is critical for production of high biomass and quality fodder oat. Thus, the s...
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,
Dawit Abate,
Meseret Tilahun
