The effect of seeding rate and nitrogen fertilizer on the winter production of irrigated sod-sown oats at Badgery's Creek

Abstract

Under supplementary spray irrigation at Badgery's Creek, N.S.W., it has been possible to increase the late autumn, winter, and early spring production of a clover dominant ryegrass-clover pasture by more than 3,000 lb of dry matter an acre by sod-seeding oats with nitrogen fertilizers. The oat seeding rate and the amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied at seeding are critical factors in determining the amount of additional winter forage obtained. At this stage it appears that the sod-seeding of oats at four bushels an acre with about 90 lb of nitrogen an acre in early autumn will greatly increase winter forage production under irrigation at a much lower cost than that associated with hand-feeding.