Key Points
- Equinox wheat produced greater lamb liveweight gain (300g/head/day) than Tama annual ryegrass (249g/head/day) or Doubletake triticale (216g/head/day) over a 30 day period.
- Grazing the Equinox was economically desirable, providing $810/ha additional income, equivalent to growing a further 3.12t/ha of grain.
- When grazing March and April sown wheat, a plant population of 250plants/m2 gave improved drymatter production and increased grain yields compared to more conventional plant populations for grain crops sown at the same time.
- The application of autumn nitrogen gave significant benefits to both forage and grain production when no spring nitrogen was applied.
- Equinox gave the best combination of both forage yield at GS31 and grain yield compared with five other autumn wheat cultivars.
- Previous trials have shown that grazing at GS30-31 (beginning of stem elongation) gives the best compromise for forage accumulation without loss of grain yield from grazing.