Irrigation boosts wheat

Press, 15 May 1981, Page 15

Irrigation boosts wheat

In a trial at Winchmore irrigation research station high yields of the equivalent of between six and eight tonnes per ha were obtained from wheat in the last growing season. When a report on the trial was given to the Wheat Research Committee last week the director of the Crop Research Division, Dr H. C. Smith, said that the new varieties and selections in the trial could clearly be made to yield highly. A member of the committee commented that he hoped the high yields did not result in baking quality dropping. The report said that samples from the trial had been submitted for' breadmaking tests, apart from the durums and triticale which had been submitted to the Timaru

Milling Company for evaluation for macaroni.

The trial, which was under the management of Mr Eric Drewitt, of the Winchmore station, was sown on September 15 w'ith 400 kg of superphosphate per ha, irrigated only once on October 29 when the soil moisture was at 15 per cent, and Bayleton and M.C.P.A. were applied on October 21 and Bayleton only on December 2.

The yields on a tonne per ha basis ranged from the equivalent of 6.40 tonnes to 8.10, including Oroua at 6.51 and Karamu at 7.62.

Dr Smith reported to the committee that farmers on the Mayfield-Hinds irrigation scheme were seeking a cultivar adapted to light land under border dyke irrigation.