Key Points
- Earlier sown treatments contributed greater forage and, therefore, added economic value.
- There was a trend for declining seed yield with delayed sowing for both cultivars, but the relationship was not significant (p<0.05). More work is needed to understand this relationship.
- For Samson, the February sown treatment had significantly higher seed yields than the later sown treatments. However, between the March to May sowing dates there was no significant difference in seed yield, but a general trend downwards.
- Spring emerged tillers can be an important component of yield in later sowing dates; in the field trial they contributed 56% to 64% of seed yield for the latest sowing date. This result contradicts popular belief that spring tillers don’t contribute to seed yield and should be confirmed through a second year of trial work.
- Economic analysis suggests that for each day of delay in sowing combined losses from forage and lower seed yield equates to $11.90 to $13.12/ha/day. Seed losses from delayed sowing for growers not grazing are less severe: $3.60 - $5.90/ha/day.
- Another year of this research is being conducted to further understand these results.