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The future approach to efficient fertitiser use on hill and high country pastures must increasingly recognise that most farms are a complex mosaic of widely different environments with an associated range in production potential, carrying capacity and fertiliser requirement. Although the importance of broad regional soil patterns has been recognised in the past, little allowance has been made for significant local landscape and soil variations. The plant nutrient needs of component parts of the landscape mosaic can be assessed by soil testing and met by fertiliser materials whosequantityand composition match those nutrient requirements in most situations. Strategies should be developed to ensure that fertiliser regimes, pasture plants and management practices are selected and orchestrated to make the most effective use of each mosaic component on each individual farm. In effect this involves selective fertiliser use, geared to the limitations, characteristics and growth patterns of individual landscape units, which are managed to meet the seasonal feed requirements of stock in the most cost effective way. A case study of Tara Hills is presented, showing how selective use of fertiliser on individually fenced landscape units can be matched to the use of these units (paddocks or blocks) in a management system designed to fit the seasonal Stock feed requirements for a high country pastoral run. Finally the importance of plant requirements, soil properties, grazing management, fertiliser form and composition, and spreading methods are reviewed with respect to fertiliser efficiency in the hill and high country. INTRODUCTION Fertilisers are applied to increase herbage production by correcting natural deficiencies in nutrient supply or to replenish nutrients used up in pastoral farming. In the South Island hill and high country this has been traditionally achieved by the widespread use of superphosphate, sulphur superphosphate and molybdenum, and until recently the chaise of other, more appropriate fertilisers has been very restricted. Although the importance of broad regional soil differences has been recognised in the past, (Ludecke & Leamy 1972; Sinclair & McIntosh 1983) little allowance has been made for significant local landscape and soil variations. Economics of fertiliser use are necessitating change. Fertiliser use has until recently been aimed at maximising production, but in the high country and in the present economic climate this is not necessarily the best objective: the emphasis is shifting to maximum economic efficiency. This will only be attained when nutrient supply is the greatest limitation to pasture production so the relative importance of climatic and management factors must first be established. We shall show how these considerations will result in more effective use of the wider range of fertiliser materials which are becoming available. This paper is divided into two parts. First we shall consider the role of fertiliser in the context of whole farm planning, and best resource utilisation. Second, we shall consider factors affecting pasture responses to fertiliser. FERTILISER EFFICIENCY AND FARM PLANNING Fertiliser can be an important item in the hill and high country farm budget. Kane (1983) estimated fertiliser accounted for 43% of his annual running costs (eXClUSiVe

TOWARDS 2000: STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE MORE EFFICIENT FERTILISER USE IN INLAND SOUTH ISLAND HILL AND HIGH COUNTRY