LIGHT LAND DEVELOPMENT WITH CEREALS?

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29330, 8 October 1960, Page 9

LIGHT LAND DEVELOPMENT WITH CEREALS?

'THERE is a little oasis in a *- typical low fertility light land area near Canterbury Agricultural College’s light land farm . at Ashley Dene. Here the farm i advisory division of the Depart- , ment of Agriculture have been ; able to establish a series of, cereals and beneath them legumes using both conventional cultivation methods and overdrilling. Artificial nitrogen has played an important part in this process. The trial area with its tall and thriving cereals, stands out in bold contrast to the low fertility browntop and sweet vernal country around it, which is relatively bare even this season. If the trial can indicate a cereal that can be grown successfully on this country it may point the way to a new and cheaper way of developing this sort of land. By providing a bite- for lambing down on at a time of the year when feed is so often short it may also, by increasing stock carrying with its associated depositing of dung and urine, raise fertility to a stage where it is possible to introduce and establish clovers and the better grasses. To set this process going, artificial nitrogen seems to be a key factor; but if it is possible to use the overdrilling technique with its low cost compared with conventional cultivation—an estimated 5s an acre compared with £s—then it may make use of nitrogen economic. Half of the trial area was overdrilled using the Powell groover points and half was sown following conventional cultivation practice. The cereals, including oats, wheat, barley and ryecorn, were all sown at 3 bushels to the acre with % bushel of grass seed and lewt of molybdic super. Calcium ammonium nitrate was applied to .all plots at either Jcwt (low rate) or 3cwt (high rate). When part of the plots sown in early April was ’mowed in mid-

August two of the cereals—Milford oats and 7201 oats, a new selection of the Crop Research Division—gave the greatest bulk. Actually with a high application of nitrogen the 7201 oat produced more dry matter to the acre where it was overdrilled, but the general trend of the experiment has been for production to be somewhat better on the ground cultivated by conventional methods. A possibility may, however, be to have a sort of halfway house' between overdrilling and conventional cultivation—perhaps a shallow surface cultivation combined with a low rate application of Dalapon. Recovery growth since mowing has been satisfactory with Cape barley looking to have done the best. Legumes have been established in both sections of the trial and in some cases they are remarkably vigorous. They were sown with licwt of reverted super to the acre; The cerpal cover crops may have a beneficial effect in protecting the young legumes from frost and the extra stocking associated with their use with its extra dung and urine deposits could also be beneficial. Lucerne lime ■ pelleted and inoculated is being compared with lucerne only lime • pelleted and cowgrass, white cloi ver, subterranean and Palestine

clovers are being studied where they are pelleted and unpelleted. The general impression at this stage is that pelleting has not made a great deal of difference. Areas of the cereals have been placed under cages and given a further spring application of nitrogen. Their grain yields will be measured. Part of each trial was grazed in late July and early August and now these areas, half of which have been given a further 2cwt of phosphate, are being spelled for recovery growth.