LAND, STOCK & CROPS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 256, 10 August 1933, Page 7

LAND, STOCK & CROPS

NOTES AND COMMENTS. (By "The Tramp"). "Should we succeed in increasing the size of the kernel the Mitchell grass would become not the equal of wheat, but its superior. Then, indeed, the western plains of Queensland would come into their own." This statement was made by Dr. E. Hirschfeld last night, in discussing in an address before the Royal Society of Queensland; experiments which had been carried out in grass cultivation at Bybera, his selection in the Goondiwindi district (says the "Brisbane Courier" of August 1). In making the above point Dr. Hirschfeld emphasised the superiority of Mitchell grass over wheat, subject to success in the experiments to increase the size of the kernel, in that it was perennial, requiring, to be sown only once, and that its deep roots made it less dependent upon the rainfall. Across the north-western plains of New South Wales there runs northward a belt of brigalow and belah country, said Dr. Hirschfeld. It crossed the Queensland border between Inglewood and Goondiwindi, and stretched farther north in the direction of Dalby and Blackall. It had a brownish or blackish loam of great depth, not quite so much given to forming cracks in dry weather as tho country between Toowoomba and Warwick. Early in 1929 Bybert was purchased. It consisted of 5400 acres, of which 700 acres had been ringbarked, and a fair proportion of the land was brigalow and belah country. With a view to increasing its carrying capacity grass experiments were commenced.

There really seemed to be no reason why Mitchell grass should not grow there, except that it did not grow there, said Dr. Hirschfeld. There were the same climatic conditions as in the Ear West, spring storms and autumn wet seasons, but with the difference that the rainfall exceeded ffiat of the Far West by up to 10 or 15 inches. Some Mitchell grass seed was obtained, and in summarising the experiments and observations made during its growth it might be said that the Mitchell was a grass resembling wheat in its ear and the appearance of the grain, but that its kernel was greatly inferior to wheat in the size of the grain. Of its nutritious qualities they could as yet say nothing from their own experience, but' the great imputation of the Mitchell grass districts for breeding sheep, growing wool, and imparting stamina to stock pointed to its food value, and its root system made it greatly independent of droughts and frosts. Such was the Mitchell grass. They had been able to domicile it on the selection without taking particular pains about it, except by protecting it in its infancy against the stock. There was no reason why it should not grow in the whole of the district, at any rate, on similar soil. Finding more congenial conditions than in the Far West, it had not only grown, but it had flourished. In carrying capacity it might not equal the densely-growing brigalow grass, but what appealed to the imagination was its possibilities. There on the western plains of Queensland and New South Wales it grew, with its yellow, whear-Uke ears studded with grain. Kangaroos, wallabies, and other marsupials had grazed over it. and the aborigines vrere reported to have crushed the grains between stones and used them as their food. Then the white man had come along within our own times, and the stock now depasturing on it had proved it to be highly nutritious. Would it bo possible to develop its grain to something approaching the size of wheat grain? The answer to that was "either "yes" or "no," but they must try, as was done in the evolution of the wheat plant. How could it be done? The obvious answer to him seemed to be by selecting, crossing, and breeding. They had made a very humble start by obtaining seeds from the different Mitchell grass districts of Queensland, and they were under a great debt of gratitude to Mi- Purcell, of the Prickly Pear Commission, who had followed the experiments with great interest. He had been instrumental in having the land rangers of the different districts communicated with in enlisting their aid in collecting the seed, and some oi the parcels were already in hand.

There was another factor which might prove of considerable importance. The analysis of the soil of Bybera showed that it possessed a very fair amount of humus, nitrogen, lime, and potash, but, like the soils of the West, it was deficient in phosphoric acid. The.grain of most cereals contained a fair amount of phosphorus and lime. If the soil was deficient in phosphorus it was a fair inference that the grain would be starved, and the fibrous part, the husks, would be developed at the expense of the grain. Therefore they proposed to add phosphates to some plots and observe their effect upon the size of the kernel.