CLOVER SEED SCARCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 65, Issue 195, 31 May 1945, Page 6

CLOVER SEED SCARCE.

RESULT OF BAD SEASON. GRASS SEED GERMINATION. Glover seed is not as plentiful as usual in the Ashburton County this, year, according to grain merchants. The quality of white clover seed is considered good in view of the. unfavourable season, although it is inclined to be dark in colour. Yields generally haA r e been low, although in a few crops they reached 1001 b an acre. One store reported handling a good deal of white clover seed,, although not as much as in previous years. The haiwest, of course, is oati’ a month late. It is feared that many crops will not be worth haiwesting. Very little c-owgrass and red clover seed has been handled. The few samples of red clover seed received by me firm have been of very good quality.

Much of the grass seed harvested has shown a low germination percentage due to blind seed disease, a remit of the wet weather during liarvesting. The average is reported to Ire about GO per cent. There have been extremes in both directions, some samples testing as low as 23 per cent., and a few over SO per cent.