Growing fodder oats
Avena sativa · also called jaiOats grown for green fodder, cut once or several times through the cool season and fed fresh, as silage or as hay. A rabi fodder of the plains and a cool-season fodder in the hills.
Arid west: Rajasthan, Kutch, north Gujarat
At a glance
Fodder oats in the Arid west
Rabi. Sown after the monsoon in autumn and cut through the winter months.4
About 100 to 130 days from sowing to the last cut (AI suggestion).
No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.Late October to early November4
Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Sow now
The window here is Late October to early November.
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- Harvest
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See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arid west | Late October to early November | January to early March | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | Late September to OctoberLate March to April, spring crop | Late April to early June | ||
| Cold desert | Late April to May | August to early September | ||
| Sub-tropical foothills | Mid-October to the first week of November | Late December to March | ||
| North-west plains | Second to last week of OctoberSecond half of November, for a seed crop | Late December to early March | ||
| Gangetic plains | Late October to November | January to early March | ||
| North-east hills and valleys | Late October to November | January to March | ||
| Central plateau | Late October to early November | January to early March | ||
| Deccan plateau | October to November | Late December to February | ||
| South interior | Late October to November | January to February | ||
| West coast | Not suited here | |||
| East coast | Not suited here | |||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Field preparation, 20 to 30 days before sowing
Farmyard manure (FYM)
15 t per hectare
Spread and work into the soil while preparing the field.
Day 0
Sow
Day 100 to 130
Last picking
No published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Before sowing
Farmyard manure (FYM)4
15 t per hectare · Spread and work into the soil while preparing the field. · Field preparation, 20 to 30 days before sowing
Day 0
Sow
Day 7 to 10
Seeds come up1,2,4,5Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Day 100 to 130
Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Four to five irrigations, counting the one before sowing. Give the first after sowing at 20 to 25 days. Regular water helps the crop tiller. Multicut varieties need seven to eight irrigations in all.4
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,2,4
6 to 7
Grows on most soils except waterlogged, alkaline or strongly saline land. Loam and clay loam suit it in Jammu; the national guide favours well-drained sandy loam and loam.
SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Arid west, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
At least 6 hours a day
Full sun in open fields.
Temperature1,2,4Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Grows best at 7 to 24 °C
Takes light frost.
Monthly temperatures for the Arid west aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
Watering4
Four to five irrigations, counting the one before sowing. Give the first after sowing at 20 to 25 days. Regular water helps the crop tiller. Multicut varieties need seven to eight irrigations in all.
Weeding4
Winter grass and broadleaf weeds of wheat fields also come up in oats. Run a weeder-cum-mulcher through the rows when the crop is about four weeks old.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field preparation, 20 to 30 days before sowing | Farmyard manure (FYM) | 15 t per hectare | Spread and work into the soil while preparing the field. |
Varieties and yield
40 to 45 tonnes a hectare
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Grows well with
- Berseem
- Mustard
Pests and diseases4
Organic and cultural controls only.
Aphids (bird cherry aphid)
Signs
Colonies of small soft insects on leaves and stems that suck sap and spoil the fodder.
What to do
- Spray plain water on the patches where colonies sit to wash them off.
Leaf blight
What to do
- Grow a variety known to tolerate leaf blight.
Powdery mildew
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
For seed, sow in the second half of November at 15 kg an acre in rows 30 cm apart. A crop sown before 15 November can give one fodder cut at 65 to 70 days and then be left for seed.
When the seed is ready
Harvest when the panicles turn straw yellow and the grain is hard (AI suggestion).
Dry the seed well and store it in clean, closed bags away from damp and pests (AI suggestion). Pull out and destroy any smutted heads in the seed crop.
After the last picking4
Oats fit fodder rotations: sorghum with cowpea in kharif, then oats; or maize with cowpea, then oats, then maize with cowpea again.
Stubble left after the last cut can be grazed or ploughed in before the next crop (AI suggestion).
Rotation
Oats follow sorghum or maize grown with cowpea in kharif, or come straight after rice.
Sources
Where this comes from
Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.
These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.
- Package of Practices for Rabi Crops 2020: OatsDirectorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
- Oats (Avena sativa): a potential winter fodder crop for better livestock production (Indian Farming 75(09), 2025)ICAR (Indian Farming); authors at ICAR-IGFRI, JhansiRead the source
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