PIONEER IN IRRIGATION

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21147, 24 April 1934, Page 9

PIONEER IN IRRIGATION

SCHEMES OF THE

'SIXTIES

NORTH CANTERBURY FARMER'S experiences

A wide experience of irrigation in Canterbury, covering a period of at iea«t 40 years, can be claimed by Mr j '\ Pannett, a retired farmer, who in 'ISUO started what must have been onc of the pioneer irrigation schemes in the province and perhaps in New Zealand. ' :u Mi- who lives at 4 Westenra terrace. Casi-.mcrc, has not been farmin" since 1900. but since his retirei" i- l 0 has followed with the kceni'nfenst the developments in irria inn iocnlly. He is confident that in'iration. int. lli-ently applied, could he of the greater! benefit to most of the pasture lands of the plains. At the sari' time he realises that there are iraiVv difficulties in the way of a scheme fcr the general application of irrigation in Canterbury, but believes that it would be economically possible and nrofitabl" to organise a system which would allow farmers to irrigate areas of ud to 25 acres on each farm. Improved Grazing Mr Pannett's first venture in irrigation was at Springston, where he worked on an area of between 150 and 200 acres, with soil most of which was peaty on the surface. Originally the land, which was adjacent to the Selwyn river, was swamp. To drain it. a creek which flowed through jt was cut off and diverted to the Selwyn. But the result was that the area reverted to the other extreme, and became too dry to grow good grass for sheep. Mr Pannett had a plentiful supply of water in the creek, and knowing the value of irrigation, took it across the road into his paddocks. The result was that after intensive irrigation the pasture improved so much that it was able to carry as many as 13 wethers to the acre' during the six months including the summer. The carrying capacity of non-irrigated pasture cf the same type was from three to four sheep. A Simple System The system adopted at Springston was simple and cheap. The water was taken along a ditch at the head of each paddock, and allowed to run down shallow ploughed channels, about nine yards apart, in each paddock. The land was fairly well sloped, with even grades, and it was an easy matter to control the flow and regulate the amount of water required. In each year, for a period of 12 years, Mr Pannett irrigated approximately 300 acres on his farm. He applied the scheme only to pasture land, believing that for cropping the costs of the distribution of the water would naturally be increased, while it seemed to him that on that particular type of land there was a danger that the soil, when irrigated for crops, would become too adhesive. The general result of the system was that the productivity of the land was greatly improved. The pasture was of the usual variety of English grasses and it was found that the more frequently it was irrigated, within reason, the better the result. Wider Possibilities Mr Pannett still believes that there were even wider possibilities in his Vscheme at Springston. The irrigated V-"ca could have been used equally •.successfully for the pasturing of QaitlL, filher for dairy or beef purposes. But at that time, as at present, sheep wore a mucli better paying proposition than dairy or beef cattle. fn one dry season 100 acres of land was irrigated for winter food. A fine cut of hay was taken from it, and the result was a profitable one for the enterprising farmer. Mr Pannett discovered that the irrigation need not be confined to dry seasons only, but that if it was continued regularly the grasses were permanently improved and able to withstand the changes of the weather throughout the year.

Experiment with Wheat The results from an experiment with irrigation on wheat, carried out at Lowcliffe, were nto so decisive. The season previously had been very dry, but during the growing season for the wheat there were abundant rains. An area of 20 acres was irrigated with creek water, but because of the rain the non-irrigated portion of wheat grew almost as well as that on the irrigated land. In fact there was no difference in the yields, Mr Pannett said. But the experiment proved to Mr Pannett that the irrigation of pastures seemed a more payable proposition than the irrigation of crops. With crops expenses were naturally higher, and with cropping there was a danger that irrigation might interfere with the physical properties of soils. With pastures, irrigation had the effect of stimulating root growth to such an extent that it prevented the stickiness of the soil which so often resulted when crops were irrigated, he said. Mainly for that reason, Mr Pannett indicated, irrigation in Canterbury would have to be confined to pasture lands. Good results could be secured from crops, but the ground lost its condition in a few years. Even with wheat-growing on a small scale, the combination of irrigation and intelligent fertilising could produce excellent results. But one could hardly put a limit to what could be achieved with intelligent fertilising and irrigation. Artesian Supply Used Mr Pannett carried out another important experiment at Greenpark, where ho used water for irrigation secured from a system of artesian wells. The land was light and sandy, with a subsoil of practically all sand. It was growing a medium type of grass. Groups of two or three wells were sunk at different places, varying in depth from 60 to 100 feet. Ordinary farm labour was used. Reservoirs were constructed of soil, made watertight by puddling, and from these the water was taken in main channels through the fields. The paddocks were laid off in plots of from one quarter to half nn acre, and the water flooded into these plots through shallow channels built up on the surface by scraping the surface soil into ridges. This i ensured that the water benefited the top soil as well as the subsoil. Each paddock was flooded to a depth of about four inches and when it was believed that the soil was well soaked, the water was allowed to drain off. The experiment with artesian water gave very similar results to those achieved at Springston with creek Water. "There is no doubt that irrigation can be applied largely in Canterbury," fa id .Mr Pannett- ''Certainly it, is of the greatest benefit in countries which have drier summers than what we have, but in any case its success depends on how it' is done. It would be far more profitable to irrigate good land, rather than the lighter type of land which is receiving attention, because the results from good land are so much better. There is no question that it is bound to make a farm a better paying concern. Care is necessary: irrigation has been overdone in some countries through the inability of the water to get away. There is little danger of that in Canterbury, but on heavy land particularly farmers will have to be careful that the amount of water they use does not cause the land to deteriorate. This could be obviated to a great extent by the use of plenty of strong rooted grasses."