THE HARVEST.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 16068, 26 November 1917, Page 3

THE HARVEST.

ELLESMERE DISTRICT. RUST AND BLIGHT IN CROP. Farmers of long experience claim that after a lengthy period of dry weatlior, and one or more bad harvests, it is nearly always safe to predict at least one very prosperous year, with crops above tho average. It is only reasonable to expect that this should bo so, for the soil boncfits by the rest just as xhe hard-worked human being or an animal docs by a respite from labour. Those farmers who go in extensively for aram growing have good causo to know that their land has had a rest during the last two years* or so, and smco tlio drought seems to have properly broken, and the soil has had a fair amount, ot moisturo, thoy wero justified m ex P e ° l ~ inc that the coming harvest would bo above normal. Up to about six or seven weeks ago the crops in all parts of the Ellesinere district lookod remarkably well, and many of them are still doing splendidly. On the who e, however the outlook does /Hot look thing liko as bright as it was two months ago. The trouble tins time is not the weather, but pests that have to be contended with. A tour through tlie district reveals tho fact that rust is very bad in many cases. Within the last month 6ome fields of wheat and oats which gave great promise have turned an unhealthy yellowifili-brown colour, indicating that the rust has made rapid headway, and tha,t the heavy yields anticipated aro not likely to materialise.- \ new pest has juado. its appearance in the form of bl:ght, which has already plavod havoc with.'quito a number of fields of wheat, oats and barley. . TJp to the present the rust, which is a fungus, is only tho flag of tho growing stalks of grain. _ So long as it remains there the yield is not likely to be very badly affectedj but when it works its way ut> to the heads of corn the results are often very serious. Most of the crops in Ellesmefo aro either just out in ear J'or are about'to break forth, so that at present it is impossible to say to what oxtent the yields of grain may bo affected. Several very early paddodks or oats appear to have been almost ruined, but these instances are, happily, but few. It will be possible to tell very soon whether tho rust is going to. do much harm. It is most noticeablo in the Dun oats. Owing to the trouble with rust somo farmers have gone in for tho Ruakura rust-re-sisting oat, and the results are certainly verv good. Algerians liavo escaped fairly well. The blight threatens.to be a very serious matter. A number of crops of wheat and barley inspected in various parts of the district wero almost alive with blight, which had made its prescnco felt to a marked extent. One particular N crop, that up to a dertain stage looked remarkably well, one of tho best in tho district, in fact, was found to have all the stalks practically covered with blight. Ten stalks which had grown from one seed were pulled out of the jground, it was found that, eight out of the ten were dead. Tho whole field was affected to much about the eame- extent. The blight is a member of the aphis family, an inert, big-bollied insect, with a voracious appetite. So far as can bo gathered, it has never before given any trouble to grain-growers in the Ellosmero district. It resembles the blight that is found on cabbages, and that gives so much trouble to growers of rapo and turnips, and multiplies very rapidly. Opinions differ as to the remedy needed to check this troublesome pest. Spraying, of course, is out of the question in tho case of cereal crops. Many farmers hold the opinion that a good day's heavy rain, followed by a strong, quick-drying wihd, would remove both blight and rust from the stalks of grain, tut, ~o far, the desired heavy rain has not made its appearance. Others incline to the belief that a vory severe nor'-wester would shake the blight off the stalks, but a farmer who took tho trouble to make some observations on a windy, day. found that tho insects merely crawled down- the stalk. The frequent light showers that have been experienced, with accompanying warm weather, seem to have been favourable to both blight and rust. Another form of blight has wrought a great doai of damage to plum trees. Blowflies, which are unusually numerous for this time of the year, have been causing a good deal of trouble amongst sheep, particularly lambs, in rich green j feed, where there is a tendency to ! scour. A number of losses have been reported. Some time ago the secretary of the Ellesmero County Advisory Committee distributed amongst farmers forms received from the National Efficiency Commissioner, asking for information relative to the acreages, they had in crop, with last year's figures given, to show the incrense in sowings. Only about half the forms have been returned so far. but these are from representative farmers throughout the district. Tho increase in wheat, according to the j returns, is 24£ per rent., while oats j rhow an increase of 35£ per cent. The j increases are mostly on the lighter i lands. A heavy downpour of rain • wo'nM do many of the a lot of j good.