Volume 12, Issue 25, January - June 2026

Determination of Optimum Seed and Nitrogen Fertilizer Rate of Oat (Bareda) Variety for West Hararghe Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Tamrat Dinkale^1♦, Lensa Urgesa¹, Jibrail Hassen¹, Sudi Dawud¹

¹Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Mechara Agricultural Research Center, Mechara, Ethiopia

^♦Corresponding author
Tamrat Dinkale, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Mechara Agricultural Research Center, Mechara, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT

The study was initiated to determine the optimal seed and fertilizer rates for the Bareda oat variety for herbage and grain production. The experimental design was a factorial randomized complete block with three replications. Four seed rate levels (60, 80, 100, and 120 kg/ha) and four nitrogen rate levels (50, 100, 150 kg/ha) were arranged in a factorial combination. All agronomic data were collected and analyzed. A significant variation was observed for most parameters due to different seed and fertilizer rate applications. Plant lodging showed significant variation only due to different fertilizer rate application, but not for seed rate. Different seed and fertilizer rate application was did not show significant variation for seed yield production, disease occurrence, and plant height. The highest oat seed rate with different rates of N showed early 50% flowering and maturity, while the lowest seed rate with different rates of N showed the longest date of 50% flowering and maturity. Mean dry matter production ranged from 8.46 to 14.08 t/ha. Dry matter production increased significantly as nitrogen rate increased from 50kg/ha to 150 kg/ha. The longest plant height is recorded from 60kg/ha seed rate with 150kg/ha N fertilizer combination, while as the seed rate increases from 60 to 120kg/ha, plant height decreases. In terms of economic marginal returns, the highest returns were obtained from the treatment combination for an 80kg/ha seed rate with 100kg/ha nitrogen fertilizer. Based on seed quality, 80kg/ha with 100kg N/ha was the best combination for the Bareda oat variety to produce a reasonable grain yield.

Keywords: Bareda variety, Fertilizer rate, oat, seed rate, West Hararghe

Discovery Agriculture, 2026, 12, e13da3207

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Published: 27 May 2026