Green fodder yield and quality of fodder oats (Avena Sativa) as influenced by dates of sowing and nitrogen levels in Southern transition zone of Karnataka

A field experiment was conducted at college of Agriculture, Hassan during Kharif-2018 on influence of varied dates of sowing and nitrogen fertilization on growth, yield and quality of fodder oats in southern transition zone of Karnataka. The soil of the experimental site was red sandy loam and the was laid out in randomized complete block design with factorial concept replicated thrice which includes five dates of sowing and two nitrogen levels. It was revealed that early sown crop on first fortnight of June recorded significantly higher dry matter accumulation (97.73 0.5m-1 row length), green fodder yield (28.88 t ha-1) and dry fodder yield (5.79 t ha-1) production as compared to other dates of sowing. However significantly higher value of quality parameters viz., crude protein (6.39%), crude protein yield (3.70 q ha-1), total ash (9.47%) and ether extract (2.97%) in same treatment compared to other treatments. Among the different nitrogen levels, application of 125 kg N ha-1 recorded significantly higher dry matter accumulation (97.73 0.5m-1 row length), green fodder yield (28.88 t ha-1) and dry fodder yield (5.79 t ha-1) production as compared to other dates of sowing. However significantly higher value of quality parameters viz., crude protein (5.20), crude protein yield (2.62 q ha-1), total ash (8.05) and ether extract (2.42%) was recorded in 125 kg N ha-1 application as compared to 100 kg N ha-1.