Impacts of artificial light at night on the vegetative growth and yield attributes of fodder oat (Avena sativa)

Aim: The present investigation was designed to study the impact of artificial light at night on the phenological phases and yield contributing traits of fodder oat variety Kent for holistic breeding along the roadsides or highways. Methodology: The experiment was conducted at Central Research Farm of ICAR-IGFRI, Jhansi, India, in a plot under natural conditions. The treatment Lc (controlled) was under natural conditions receiving normal daylight and dark periods. However, treatment L1 (300-350 lux), L2 (200-300 lux), L3 (100-200 lux), and L4 (10-50 lux) were different light affected areas having distances 0, 5, 10, and 15 m from the light source. Duncan's test, OPSTAT, and SPSS version 16.0 software were used for statistical analysis. Results: The vegetative growth parameters such as plant height, total leaf area, flag leaf area, days to 50% flowering, panicle length, total dry biomass, and test weight were increased linearly as the distance increased from the artificial light source (minimum value for L1 treatment and maximum for Lc). However, plant population per meter square was maximum for L1 treatment and minimum for local control (Lc; no night light effect). Moreover, it is the first report of artificial light at night on the fodder oat from India and concluded that night light significantly affects the plant phenology and yield potential, and opens a new research paradigm on plant-artificial light at night interactions. Interpretation: Plants close to the light source received maximum intensity of night light (L1) than distantly located treatments (L2, L3, and L4). Artificial light at night-time had adverse effects on the yield-contributing traits and showed a significant negative relationship. Key words: Artificial light, Fodder oat, Light intensity, Morphological traits, Night time