One of best harvests for wheat

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34129, 15 April 1976, Page 8

One of best harvests for wheat

From all accounts Canterbury farmers have had a very good harvest this vear.

Wheat crops did particularly well, with adequate moisture levels in the spring and early to midsummer being contributing factors. And whereas unsettled conditions early in the new year made it difficult to get moisture levels down to acceptable levels for harvesting, cool temperatures at the same time resulted in crops being late in coming to maturity and also reduced the chances of sprout damage. However, strong northwest winds caused damage to wheat and barley crops in some areas just when they were about to be harvested-. “I would say without fear of contradiction that we have had the best harvest that we have ever experienced,” Mr J. 1.. Symons, senior farm advisory officer with the Ministry of Agriculture at Waimate, said last week-end in discussing the harvest in Waimate county.

The average wheat yield for the Waimate county has been estimated at 72 bushels to the acre. Mr Symons thinks that the highest previous average was 65 bushels some years ago. Although the results had not been officially confirmed when he spoke, Mr Symons said that two or three paddocks in the district had probably yielded more than 130 bushels to the acre. He puts the high average for wheat this year down to the impact of the new varieties, Kopara and Karamu. The average yield for barley in the district is also put at 75 bushels and for oats, of which there was not a large area, at 86 bushels. Peas were slightly disappointing, he said, because the season was too growthy, but ryegrass was quite satisfactory and there were also some reasonable yields of white clover. In a trial on Willowbridge silt loam in the Morven area where a number of varieties of wheat were grown following white clover, Mr C. C. McLeod, district agricultural scientist with the Ministry, reports that yields ranged to the equivalent of a fraction more than 150 bushels to the acre for Kopara, and the first five varieties in the trial, including Karamu, yielded close to that level. Mr McLeod said that the yields on this trial were the highest recorded in South

Canterbury. Because he was using scales that would weigh up to only 50 kilograms, he had to reduce the area of the trial plots weighed. Many other trials in the district in the last season had yielded more than 100 bushels, he said, and the lowest yield had been 60 bushels at Fairview. In the Morven trials use of superphosphate was compared with wheat sown without fertiliser, and there was no response to the fertiliser. But further north Mr D. D. Collie, of the Ministry in Timaru. said that the estimate for wheat in his district at 55 to 60 bushels was not quite as good as had been expected. Quite a number of crops yielded between 80 and 90 bushels and up to 100, and yields ranged up to 120 bushels or slightly better. Barley yields were reasonable and above average, but “not exceptionally above average,” Mr Collie said. Ryegrass crops were very good, with one paddock of new Nui ryegrass yielding about 96 bushels to the acre. White clover was variable in this district, with some good yields and others not so good. Peas were similarly variable, but with a lot of good yields all the same.

In Mid-Canterbury Mr H. R. Evans, of the Ministry in Ashburton, said that wheat yields had been up substantially—from an average of about 50 bushels to 58 bushels this year. Other crops had shown a similar improvement in yield, he said. Whereas barley sown on its own had shown this sort of lift, Mr Evans said, quite a lot had been undersown at lower seeding rates and these crops had not yielded as well. Some white clover crops, he said, had had to be abandoned because of the unsettled weather, and in the Eiffelton district some wheat and barley had been only partly harvested because the ground was waterlogged. “I do not think that there would be many people disappointed with their wheat yields,” said Mr R. L. Bennetts, a farm advisory officer of the Ministry in Darfield, referring to the position in the central Canterbury area between the Rakaia and Waimakariri rivers. “I would expect that it has been one of the best seasons ever.” On the heavier land, Mr

Bennetts said, quite a number of growers averaged 70 to 80 bushels to the acre. Several paddocks, he said, had yielded 100 bushels to the acre or better and quite a lot had yielded 80 bushels.

Even on the lighter land, where the yield normally expected was about 40, this season crops had gone 60 to 65 bushels. Barlev had been much more variable and not as good as wheat. Later crops had yielded heavily, but some of the early crops had suffered from wind damage. There had been some good pea yields in the district, with some process peas yielding up to two tonnes to the acre. These had given a good return and the fact that they were off paddocks early had enabled farmers to get turnips in and these were really good crops now. The white clover harvest picture was also variable. Earlier crops did not set well with the cold, unsettled weather, but some of the later crops were good and yielded up to four bags of dressed seed to the acre. The average, however, would be more like one bag and a half to two bags. Less ryegrass had been harvested this season than in times when the priqe was better, but it was also a risky crop and those who did not have drying equipment had not got good yields.

In contrast to earlier years when digging did not start till May and went on through the winter. Mr Bennetts said late last week that some large potato growers had nearly finished their digging. As these growers would be having to hold part at least of their crop in storage, he said that this development underlined the need for more work to be done on potato storage. At the northern end of the province Mr R. F. Y. Kent, of the Ministry in Rangiora, said that wheat yields in North Canterbury this season had been well above average and were likely to average 50 to 55 bushels. There had been high yields of Kopara exceeding 100 bushels to the acre on the best land, while spring-sown Karamu had also done exceptionally well with individual paddocks yielding more than 90 bushels to the acre.

Barlev yields were also above average and late crops had yielded very well. Ooat yields had also been above average. Mr Kent said that some potentially good white clover crops had been marred by continuing vegetative growth, and because of the price there had not been much interest in saving grass seed.