Plant Species For Area

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31077, 4 June 1966, Page 9

Plant Species For Area

On the more exposed sunny faces and the front country, Dr. J. G. H. White, senior lecturer in the plant science department, said that subterranean clover was worth trying at 51b to the acre oversown in March. On the wetter country white clover would be satisfactory. It was also intended to oversow alsike, cocksfoot, white and red clover in June on country that had already received subterranean clover. They would also be looking at the possibility of introducing creeping lucerne on a dry ridge, which he indicated. Inoculation of clover seed to ensure nodulation would be a good insurance on this country, he said, and they would also try lime pelleting of seed. It was also intended to look into the most suitable grass species to introduce to take advantage of the higher fertility which would be created and which would give more winter production and stand up to the north-west winds in the summer. It was

proposed to try three strains of cocksfoot, two strains of ryegrass, Massey College Yorkshire fog, a prairie grass selection and also a tall fescue selection. They would also be looking at the time of introduction. There were two schools of thaought on this subject. One held that the grasses should be introduced with the clover and the other (hat the grass should be introduced after the clover had built up the nitrogen level. Some research that had been done had indicated that it was best to introduce the grass seed with the clover initially. Dr. White suggested that there could be a case for controlled burning of tussock on this country to facilitate oversowing. It would be easier on the stock.

When the property had been taken over Mr V. R. Clark, a lecturer in the animal science department at the college, said that the liveweight of the ewe lambs had been 471 b, the two-tooth ewes 721 b, four-tooths 831 b, the sixtooths 841 b, and the older ewes just about 901 b. They were certainly light and on the basis of work done in relationship to barrenness and twinning in ewes it was calculated that the lambing should be no better than 80 to 85 per cent To improve this position ewes and lambs should be weaned earlier—at least by December—-which would give the ewe a chance to build up before mating and with early weaning fleece weights might also be improved. He said he hoped that sheep would not be crammed on to tussock in too great a number to bare down the vegetation before oversowing as this would not improve the live-weight. Professor Stewart said It was hoped to be able to quit the wether lambs earlier. No fattening was contemplated at this stage, he told a questioner, and to another question about the place of cattle on the place, he said that they would no doubt come eventually, but the £lOOO that would be needed to buy 30 cows he felt could be better invested elsewhere, and in

any case he thought that more money could be made out of sheep. To another inquirer, who asked about the effect of development on the freeholding of the property in, say, 17 years’ time, Dr. Stewart said it was likely that they would he penalised to some extent. If this country went ahead and it could be shown that its productivity could be increased, this could legitimately be written into the unimproved value. Both the principal of the college, Dr. M. M. Bums and Professor Stewart emphasised that all information about the development of the property would be made available to farmers and to the Government departments with whom they would be working. Dr. Bums said that when the college had disposed of leaseholds in the Kirkliston range they had used part of the proceeds to acquire this country, on which there was little information about the costs of development and how long the developer would have to wait to get the benefit of his investment. Professor Stewart said that there were 500,000 acres of similar country in North Canterbury and another 400,000 to 500,000 acres that were similar but with a higher rainfall.

Dr. Bums said that the project would really be an effort to secure maximum production oh this country and in this they would be working in with the Department of Agriculture and also the Lands and Survey Department

Professor Stewart commended the neighbourly spirit in the area and said they looked forward to the continuation of this co-opera-tion in the future.

An example of this was seen on the field day when utility vehicles taking visitors up to about 2000 ft on the college property travelled by a track on the property of a neighbour, Mr H. Collins, as there are still one or two difficult patches on the college’s own track.

The working manager on the college’s property is Mr S. Cartridge.