Offered Papers Theme B: Grassland and the Environment
Description
Low summer rainfall in southwest Victoria, Australia, restricts pasture growth and limits milk production. One fifth of dairy farmers in the region have some capacity to irrigate during summer. Irrigated dairy pastures are relatively poor utilisers of water with water use efficiencies (WUE) of about 1 t DM/ML water (Ward et al. 1998). Using nitrogen (N) fertiliser may increase dry matter (DM) yields for a given amount of water. Data on N response efficiencies from irrigated pasture in southwest Victoria are lacking. Two experiments determined the potential of N fertiliser to maximise the conversion of irrigated water to pasture DM.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Enhancing Water Use Efficiency on Irrigated Dairy Pastures with Nitrogen Fertiliser
Low summer rainfall in southwest Victoria, Australia, restricts pasture growth and limits milk production. One fifth of dairy farmers in the region have some capacity to irrigate during summer. Irrigated dairy pastures are relatively poor utilisers of water with water use efficiencies (WUE) of about 1 t DM/ML water (Ward et al. 1998). Using nitrogen (N) fertiliser may increase dry matter (DM) yields for a given amount of water. Data on N response efficiencies from irrigated pasture in southwest Victoria are lacking. Two experiments determined the potential of N fertiliser to maximise the conversion of irrigated water to pasture DM.
