Standardization of manure and planting geometry for production of organic oats

The goal of the current investigation was to standardize the manures and planting geometry for the production of organic oats at the SHUATS Model of Organic Farm (SMOF), SHUATS, Prayagraj (U.P.). The experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2023-2024 and laid out in a randomized complete block design with 12 treatments, each replicated thrice. The experimental results showed that treatment 12 significantly increased the plant height and the number of spikes per running row meter. On the other hand, treatments T6, T11, T9, and T5 recorded significantly higher numbers of tillers/running row meter, grains/spike, grain yield, and straw yield, respectively. However, the application of FYM (50% N) + Karanj cake (50% N) + biofertilizer + 20 cm x 15 cm (treatment 9) resulted in significantly higher gross returns, while the application of FYM (50% N) + poultry manure (50% N) + biofertilizer + 20 cm x 15 cm (treatment 7) yielded significantly higher net returns and benefit-cost ratios due to the cheaper price of poultry manure in treatment 7 compared to the costlier karanj cake in treatment 9. Therefore, the application of FYM (50% N), poultry manure (50% N), and biofertilizer at a planting geometry of 20 cm x 15 cm (treatment 7) yielded the best results compared to other treatments, as it projected the highest net returns and benefit-cost ratio in terms of organic oats production.