MUCH SUPERIOR

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 45, 3 December 1949, Page 4

MUCH SUPERIOR

IRRIGATED PASTURES ASHBURTON COMPETITION The pastures in the irrigated section were very much superior compared with similar types on dry land, said the judge, Mr G. K. McPherson (assistant irrigation officer) at the annual prize-giving of the Ashburton County Pasture Competition Committee at Ashburton yesterday. Had the judging been delayed another month the difference 'would have been greater still. The dry season had shown that water would definitely make grass grow.

“The entries, this year were very good indeed—there were about 80 for the whole county, which number is or. a par with last year,” he said. “Considering the state of the pasture after the dry weather, I think it was a very fine gesture on the part of the farmers that there were so 'many entries. j “The pasture I was looking for, and the pasture which was awarded most points was that containing a mixture of grass and clover in the proportion of 60 per cent, graes to 40 per cent, clover. There has not been very much research in the South Island on grassland .matter, but there has been in the North -Island, where they have found that such a proportion gives a maximum herbage throughout the year. It is all right for me to describe the ideal pasture, but to obtain it on the farm is a different matter.

“Density is a very important point, because without it pasture capacity cannot be obtained. In my judging I was fairly severe where weeds or weed grasses appeared in the sward. “We, in Canterbury and the South Island generally tend to look on inferior grasses as detrimental to pastures, but that iS not the position in the North Island. We may be tending to produce a pasture that is too pure. The pasture that does contain a few of those extraneous species is probably better,” Mr McPherson said.

Adverse Weather

“Speaking in general terms, the standard was not as high this year as it was in the two previous seasons, because of the weather,” he continued. “The pastures showed a tendenscy to lack density; they tended to open up and show an amount of foreign growth. This year the average marks on the dry land pastures were 66, compared with 72 in 1948 and 74 in 1947.

“The main value of the competition is not so much the awarding of prizes, but the knowledge that comes from it. ..For instance, of 46 pastures, 45 farmers used perennial ryegrass as a basis, and only one used short rotation grasses. That suggests that the short rotation ryegrass is not going to replace perennial ryegrass .to any great extent. It seems that it will be reserved for the best soils, or soils with a good rainfall or for seed production. Of the '46 pastures, 19 had ryegrass and white closer as a basis, showing that a large percentage of paddocks is now sown with rye and white closer as a basis, and not ryegrass and red clover. “An interesting point was that few farmers -had subterranean clover in their paddocks. Eight of the 46 had cocksfoot, which showed up remarkably well in the dry weather. It should have a gi'eater use, in the county. Eleven .had dogstail, which appeared to be an excellent feed. We have not reached the bottom of its capabilities.

Methods of Sowing

“I was interested'.--to note that among the entries sowing had been done by broadcasting on 36, drilling on 1,9, and drilling and broadcasting on 17. Of the 11 county winning pastures three were drilled, three were broadcast and drilled, and five were broadcast. I would sav there was a tendency to swing away from drilling. Generally there was a tendency to broadcast on heavy hold or light land with plenty of moisture. . “Of the 46 pastures, 16 were sown pure and of nine of the winning pastures five were sown pure. I believe that the only inference is that where the land is in good heart then it is possible to obtain first-class pastures even with cover crops. Top-dressing seemed to have been done mainly with a mixture of lime and superphosphate. Eight of the winning pastures had been top-dressed with 8001 b of lime and 801 b of jsuperphosphate an acre a year.

irrigation

“I could not see any difference in pastures that had been bordered and sown soon after. Of nine best pastures in the irrigation section one had been drilled 12 days after bordering and one three months later. There seemed to be little difference. In one case where a pasture was bordered and sown within one week a good pasture was produced, but I would not like to be definite on the point. On the heavy land under irrigation a mixture of rye, white clover, cocksfoot, Timothy and dogstail gave a good sward. I am- not so sure about the light land but ryewhite seems to be good as a basis. Where rye-white was sown on its own under irrigation this year the pasture tended to be too ‘clovery.’ I think cocksfoot and dogstail have good possibilities.

“Generally speaking the greater the quantity of water applied the better the pasture, but several years will be needed to judge the effects properly.

“Seven entries in the competition had been wild-flooded but none was in the placings although they were practically all very good. If the contour was suitable and there was a good covering of water there would be possibilities.

“I have come to the conclusion that the spring-sown pastures obtain the prizes in the first year section. If you sow in the spring and irrigate in the summer the best results are obtained,” Mr McPherson said.

Trophies Awarded

Trophies were awarded as follows: Canterbury Frozen Meat Company’s Cup for best pasture in county: A. F. Marr (Methven). Lime Distributors’ Cup for land under £lO an acre and more than eight years old: N. S. Sim (Carew).

Ministry of Works Cup for best irrigated pasture: C. Hilgendorf (Lauriston). Committee’s Cup for land under value of £lO an acre: W. T. Glasgow (Mayfield). Methven Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s Trophy: A. F. Marr.