Oats forage for Cattle - Fodde- TvAgro By Juan Gonzalo Angel
Channel: TvAgro Channel
Date: 2017-10-11

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The oat plant (Avena sativa L.) is an annual grass grown primarily for its grain, which is one of the major cereal grains worldwide (see the Oats datasheet). In industrialised countries, oats are grown either for grain or for forage, while in other regions, and particularly in developing countries, oats are first grown for forage and then allowed to recover for grain harvest (Suttie et al., 2004).

Morphology
The oat plant grows to a height of 1.2 m. It has a fibrous root system. Its culms are erect, smooth, and hollow. The leaves are linear, alternate, and acuminate. Leaf blades are 15-40 cm long and 0.6-1.5 cm broad. The inflorescence is a terminal, loose, curved, and branched panicle that bears solitary and pendulous spikelets. The spikelets have generally two overlapping husks (glumes). The fruit is a hairy cylindrical and slightly ridged caryopsis, 0.6 to 0.8 cm in length, enclosed in hulls which are difficult to remove (Ecoport, 2013; RBG Kew, 2013).
Oats are grown in more than 50 countries but statistics are only concerned with the grain. Oat forage rarely enters the commercial market, although in some areas oats are grown as a dual purpose crop (grain and forage). However, there is no reliable estimation of worldwide oat forage acreage and production (Suttie et al., 2004).

Oats are mostly found between 45-65° N and 20-46° S (Stevens et al., 2004). They are grown as a spring-growing or autumn-growing crop in the cooler and moister areas of temperate regions and as a cool season crop in Mediterranean and tropical areas. In tropical areas, high altitudes are suitable. For example in Ethiopia and Kenya, oats are grown above an altitude of 1600 m but do their best above 2000 m (Assefa, 2006; Suttie et al., 2004). Oats grow on a wide range of soils at temperatures ranging from 5 to 26°C and in regions with rainfall over 500 mm (Ecoport, 2013; Assefa, 2006). However, the oat crop is not as winter-hardy as wheat. Hot and dry weather just before heading is deleterious to seed yield. Oats do better in loam soils but tolerate acidic and low fertile soils with pH ranging from 4.5 to 8.6. Oats have some salt tolerance (Assefa, 2006; Suttie et al., 2004; Mishra et al., 1986 cited by Ecoport, 2013).

Because it does not require sophisticated equipment to grow and harvest, oat forage has become a major crop in regions such as the Himalayas (Pakistan, North India and neighbouring countries), the southern cone of South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and North Africa. On the contrary, oat forage has declined in areas, not
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