Production and Productivity of Oat (Avena sativa L.) Cultivars as Fodder Crop on Hilly Terraces of Nagaland under Rainfed Condition

Background: Agricultural background of rural India, maintaining cattle is very important, but due to the lack of pasture land and fodder production, it is tough to maintain the cattle with the farmers. However, producing fodder crops throughout the year makes it possible to maintain cattle. During the rainy season, different grasses are available, but during the rabi season dry period, fodder becomes scares, so growing fodder oats will compensate during the lean period. Methods: A field experiment was conducted during the rabi season of 2019 and 2020 at the experimental research farm, School of Agricultural Sciences, Nagaland University, Medziphema. The experiment consisted of six varieties of oat, namely, V1-OS-346, V2-OS-403, V3-WJ-8, V4-OS-6, V5-OS-7 and V6-OS-377, which were laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with four replications to find out the best suitable variety under rainfed condition of Nagaland. Result: The study revealed that all the oat varieties grew well under Nagaland conditions. The variety OS-403 recorded the highest plant height (72.69 cm) and was at par with variety WJ-8 (72.43 cm). Among the varieties, green fodder yield and dry matter yield were significant. The variety OS-403 recorded the highest green fodder yield (148 q/ha), followed by WJ-8 (143.11 q/ha). Similar is the trend for dry matter yield. The variety OS-403 recorded the highest dry matter yield (27.97q/ha), at par with variety WJ-8 (27.22 q/ha). Crude protein content (%) and crude protein yield (q/ha) were non-significant among the different oat varieties.