ROOT CROPS.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15723, 17 October 1916, Page 5

ROOT CROPS.

CO-OPERATIVE FIELD EXPERIMENTS. Experiments conducted by Mr W. J. Jenkins, of Waddington, in the growing of root crop 6, resulted as ■under, the testa being carricd out under the supervision of tho Fields Division, Department of Agriculture:— SWEDES. The land selected was a good loam on a. clay eub-eoil, and was in grass from • 1910 to 1913, peas in 1913-14, and mangels in 191415. It' was ploughed, cultivated, and ridged in October, 1915. The roots were pulled and weighed on May sth, 1916. The seed was eown on November ISth, 1915, in raised drills 26 inches apart, with an application of 4cwt. per acre of New Zealand Farmers' Co-op. turnip manure-. The results were, th® yields being j>er rtcr«: — 1. Sutton's Selected Superlative: Roots, 31.82 tons; tops, 7.34 tons. Fair quality roots. 2. Sutton's Best of All: Roots. 38.35 tons: tops, 5.71 tone. Good roota. 3. Sutton's Champion: Roots, 31.82 -tons; tops, 4.89 tons. Fair quality.

4. Sutton's Queen: Roots, 35.08 tons; tops, 5.71 tons. Fair roots, a few rotten.

5. Sutton's New Bronze Top: Roots, 27.74 i tons; tops, 8.97 tons. Very necky, a few rotten.

0. Sutton's Green Top: Roots, 26.92 tons; tops, 12.34 tons. Very necky, a few rotten. 7. Sutton's Magnum Bonum: Roots, 34.27 tons; tops, 5.71 tons. Good roota, but slightly affected with club root. 8. Sutton's Up-to-Date: Roots, 24.4S tons; tops, 4.05 tone. A number rotten.

9. Garton's Superlative: Roots. 40.80 tons: tops, 3.26 tone. Very good quantity and quality. ~ 10. Garton's Incomparable: Roots, 33.45 tons; tnps, 4.59 tons. Faulty roots, bad with rot. 11. Oartou's Mode!: Roots, 26.11 tons; tops, 1.08 tons. Coarse quality. 12. Garton's Keepwell: Boots, 26.11 tons; tops, 7.34 tonß. Very necky, several rotten. 13. Garton's Cropwell: Roots, 25.29 tons; •tope, 8.97 tons. Very necky, but sound. 11. Garton's Pioneer: Roots, 28.56 tons; tops, 1,0.60 tons. Very necky, but sound. 15. Garton's Monarch: Roots, 30.19 tone; tops, 6.52 tons. Fair quality roots. _ 16. Garton's Acme: Roots, 30.19 tons; tops, 4.87 tone. Good shape and quality. 17. Garton's "Warrington: Roots, 13.87 tons; tops, 4.08 tons/ This variety was .practically growing in an odd finish. 18. Montgomery's Skirving's Purple Top: Roots, 17.13 tons; tops, 8.97 tons. Very necky, and rotten. 19. Montgomery's Champion Purple Top: Roots, 27.7 tons; tops, 5.71 tons. Slightly nccky. sound. 20. N.Z. Farmers' "John Bull": Root 3, 28.5 tons; tops, 8.97 tons. Very necky, and rotten. 21. Sharpo's Coronation Green Top: Roots, 24.48 tons; tops, 10.60 tons. Very. rough, ' 22. Sharpe'fl Paragon Purple Top: Roots, 32.64 tons; tops, 17.13 tons. Very necky. 23. Sharps, Al, Purple Top: Roots, 23.45 tons; tops, 13.87 tons. Necky. 24. Sharpes, Supreme Bronze Top: Roots. 20.40 tons; tops, 5.71 tons. Very bad quality and rotten. 25. Sharpes, Standard Purple Top: Roots, 19.58 tons; tops, 4.08 tons. Fair roots, a few rotten. 26.' Sharpes, Ne Plus Ultra: Roota, 24.48 tons; tops, 4.89 tons. Fair roots, a few rotten.

27. Watson's Best of All: Roots. 22.03 tons; tora, 8.16 tons. Fairly good roots. Inspector Scott* reports on the above that tho land was in grand order for sowing when the experiment was initiated. The germina--tion gcnera'.lv was cood. A good many roots were affected with club root (plasmodiophora. braesicae) and turnip rot (phomo napo brassicae), as detailed in remarks.

MANGELS. The land selected was a good to medium loam on t. clay subsoil, uniform in character, nnd was in grass 1911 to 1913, and potatoes 1914. It was cultivated in July, deep ploughed in August, tine-harrowed in September, cultivated, tine-harrowed, rolled, and thrown into ra-ised drill® in October, 1915. The seed was sown on October 11th, 1915, in raised drills, 26 inches apart, with an application of 4cwt per acre of New Zealand Farmers' Co-op. mangel manure. The roots were pulled and weighed on July 3rd, 1916. Results: — 1. Sutton'6 Prizo-winner, lellow Globe: 14.68 tons per acre. 2. Sutton's Devon, Yellow Globe: 30.6 tons per acre. 3. Sutton's Golden Globe: 31.82 tons per acre.

4. Sutton's Golden Tankard: 35.90 tons per acrc.

5. Sutton's Mammoth, Long Red: 44.88 tons

per acre. 6. Sutton's Sugar: 36.31 tons per acre. 7. Sutton's Yellow Intermediate: 38.35 tons per acrc. 8. Sutton's Selected Jersey Queen.: 39.98 tons per acre. 9. Montgomery's Yellow Globe: 50.59 tons per acre. 10. Montgomery's Corner's Yellow Globe: 44.88 tons per acre. 11. Montgomery's Mammoth Long Red: 43.24 tons ger acre. 12. Montgomery's Golden Tankard: 37.54 tons per acre. 13. Montgomery's "Windsor, Red Globe: 37.53 tons per acre. 14. Garton's Largo Yellow Globe: 53J34 tons per acre. 15. Garton's New I>arge Red Globe: 45.69 tons per acre. 16. Garton's New Golden Gatepost, 40.8 tons per acre. 17. Garton'6 Golden Tankard: 37.53 tons per acre. 18. Garton's New Sugar: 41.61 tons per acre. 19. Garton's Gatepost or Large Yellow Intermediate.: 41.20 tons per acre. 20. Garton's Large Red Intermediate: 37.94 tons per acre. 21. Garton's New Large Golden Globe: 42.43 tons per acre. 22. New Zealand Farmers Orange Globe: 33.04 tons per acre. 23. New Zealand Farmers' Golden Intermediate: 33.86 tons per acre. 24. New Zealand Farmers' I*jng Yellow: 33.86 tons per acre. 25. New Zealand Farmers' Jtifnoy Qoasn: 46.93 tons per acre. , _ . 26. New Zealand Farmers' Carters Prisetaker. Yellow Globe: 46.51 tons per acre. 27 Now Zealand Farmers' Hurst's Monarch, Yellow Globe: 39.16 tons per acre. Inspector Scott reports:—The seeds -were sown under favourable conditions. Germination was good. Sparrows were very eeeeme on young plants, chiefly red varieties of plots 1, and in a ]rawer degree 3 and 3. Speaking generally, the mangels wen? of good iiy and very sound.