In crop rotations the harvest date of the first crop affects the sowing
date of the succeeding crop which then influences the potential annual
yield of the rotation. This study measured the dry matter accumulation
and growth rate of oats, cv Milton, sown on five different dates 4 March
(S1), 28 March (S2), 21 April (S3), 12 May (S4) and 3 June (S5) in 2008.
Each sowing was sequentially harvested until October. More than 15 t
DM ha-1 was obtained from oats sown in March but the yield declined
to 7.7 t DM ha-1
in the June sowing. Using a base soil temperature of 0
°C Milton accumulated yield at between 8 and 13 kg DM Cd-1
. The
earlier autumn sowings accumulated more heat units and therefore had
higher dry matter production. Winter growth of S4 and S5 was < 19 kg
DM ha-1 d
-1
. Low growth rates in these treatments occurred because
they failed to reach a critical leaf area index before cool temperatures
restricted canopy development. However, these later sown crops
responded rapidly to warm spring temperatures. The final yield from
the October harvest reflects the yield potential prior to sowing a maize
or kale crop for summer.[Show full abstract]
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