Author:
Eckard R. J.,Salardini A. A.,Hannah M.,Franks D. R.
Abstract
The yield and quality of perennial ryegrass, short-rotation
ryegrass–perennial ryegrass mix, oats, millet, maize, rape, kale, pasja
and turnips were determined over a 13-week summer period in 1995–96 and
1996–97. The experiment was conducted on the Elliott Research Station in
north-western Tasmania (145˚E, 41˚S) and consisted of 2 irrigated
and 2 dryland main plots. Within each main plot was a randomised complete
block design with 9 forage crop subplots.
Where forage is required through the summer, there is little advantage in
establishing millet or oats over a spring-sown ryegrass pasture, mainly as the
former still require replacement with permanent pasture in the autumn.
However, if additional forage is required from late January then turnips are
clearly superior to the other forages evaluated in all respects, apart from a
low bulb crude protein (CP) content. Turnips responded significantly to
irrigation, producing between 15 and 22 kg DM/ha.mm irrigation applied,
with yields ranging between 7.9 and 10.6 t DM/ha dryland and between 13.5
and 14.4 t DM/ha under irrigation. The metabolisable energy (ME) and CP
contents of turnips were 12.5 MJ/kg DM and 12.4% in the shoots and
13.4 MJ/kg DM and 7.0% in the bulbs, respectively. In comparison,
the other fodder crops tested yielded between 4 and 6 t DM/ha under
dryland conditions and between 5 and 7 t DM/ha under irrigated conditions.
Turnips were most economic, costing on average A$120/t DM irrigated
and $160/t DM dryland, while spring renovation to perennial
ryegrass cost $385/t DM irrigated and $344/t DM dryland;
clearly more expensive than purchased feeds for this period. These findings
confirm the choice of many farmers that, of the species examined, turnips are
the most suitable as a summer fodder crop, both irrigated or dryland, and
integrate well with a pasture renovation rotation.
Subject
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Cited by
19 articles.
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