Quality and quantity of forage from winter oats in the Manawatu

Four cultivars of oats ( Avena sativa L.) (Amuri, Avon, Florida 501, and Florida AB113) were grown during winter in the Manawatu for 3 years to measure cultivar, year, cultivar x year interaction, and harvest date effects on forage quantity and quality. The quantity of forage produced at a given harvest date was dependent on cultivar and temperatures preceding that harvest date. Cultivar x year interactions were not important. The quality of all cultivars, in terms of digestibility and nitrogen concentration, was reasonably satisfactory for animal production until flag leaf emergence began in August or September. After that, the digestibility declined rapidly from 80% to 55%. The nitrogen concentrations declined steadily throughout the winter from 4.5% to near 1%.