Evaluation of different oat (Avena sativa L.) varieties for forage yield and related characteristics

The ample provision of quality fodder is essential for sustainable dairy industry. The development of oat varieties possessing higher forage yield potential will help to produce abundant quantities of fodder for cattle. For this purpose, an experiment was conducted to compare the forage yield of twelve oat (Avena sativa L.) varieties at Agricultural Research Station, Bahawa lpur, Pakistan, during the year 2012-2013. Randomized Complete Block Design was used for the layout of the e xperiment having three replications with plot size of 1.8 m x 6 m. Drill m ethod was used for seed sowing. Data was recorded for plant height, leaf area, tillers per plant, tillers per meter row and green fodder yield. Sgd Oat-2011 was the tallest variety (129.6 cm) while Sgd-4 was the shortest one (82.3 cm). F-411 was found to have a broader leaf area (70.83 cm 2 ) compared to other varieties. F-411 and DN-8 had maximum number of tillers (12 and 11), respecti vely, while varieties Sgd-4, F-403 and Sgd Oat-2011 had least tillers (6). Sgd-3 and No-708 produced highest fodder yield (80 tons ha -1 ) while Hay produced the lowest yield (63.72 tons h a -1 ). Sgd-3 possessed highest number of tillers per meter row ( 211) while variety Colabah had less number of tille rs per meter row (139). From the results, we found that variety Sgd-3 and N o-708 showed better performance than other varieties used in the trial.