Drop In Wheat Yield Likely

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31583, 22 January 1968, Page 10

Drop In Wheat Yield Likely

The wheat crop in Canterbury seems unlikely to be as good as as had been expected earlier in the season.

“1 think that, like everyone else, I have amended my earlier expectations downwards a bit," Mr C. P. Whatman, senior farm advisory officer of the Department of Agriculture in Ashburton, said last evening. In many cases heads had not set three rows of grain. 'To get high yields, he said, [there must be three rows of 'grain and in many cases I four. Some Aotea wheat had a peculiar appearance. The heads were very long—about half as long again as usual—but they were like rats’ tails, with two rows of grains, tailing off. The grains were sometimes so far apart that it was possible to see through the head. However, Mr Whatman said, the Arawa crops would probably be the best. They were filling better. Mr R. G. Jolly, of the Department of Agriculture in Christchurch, who works between the Waimakariri River ana the Rakaia River west of the main railway, also said last evening that the crops had not filled as well as usual. “In a lot of cases the third pickle has not filled,” he said. But he thought that crops would be quite good. Mr Whatman said that there was also an appreciable amount of barley yellow dwarf virus. While crops were not going to pieces with

this disease as they had done a few years ago, there was still a sprinkling of plants affected. Many English grain aphides had been about between Christmas and New Year, he said, but he could not say how widespread they were. Nor could he say what effect they would have on yield. He did not think that they would be as serious in MidCanterbury as elsewhere. There was also quite a lot of take-all and associated root diseases, and also septoria in crops, he said. Mr Jolly said that crops inland in areas such as Hcrorata had quite a bit of mildew, but on the plains they were looking quite well. Mr J. L. Symons, farm advisory officer of the department in the Waimate district, believes that the yields there could be down on average by 25 bushels an acre on last year’s record level. Drought was the main factor responsible for the drop. In his latest report on crops and pastures, Mr A. R. Dingwall, fields superintendent of the department in Christchurch, says that the effects of frost will result in lower-than-expected average yields from Mid-Canterbury crops. In South Canterbury the effects of drought, snow, and frost damage in many parts of the Fairlie, Geraldine, Levels, and Waimate counties will cause a significant drop in average yields and, with second growth developing, the harvest will be a difficult one. Even if harvesting conditions are favourable, many

samples are expected to be ; below fair average quality— > especially in South Canter- < bury. Mr Dingwall said the English grain aphis had caused much ear and stem discoloration and seemed likely to ;

affect adversely the yields, or the grain sample quality or both in some crops. The comment was made last evening that the effect of the various yield-reducing factors could be to remove the possibility of producing a wheat surplus this season.