GRASSLAND CONGRESS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 34, 4 November 1937, Page 2 (Supplement)

GRASSLAND CONGRESS

Work of Welsh Plant-Breeding Station MEANS TO IMPROVE PASTURES The fourth International Grassland Congress at Aberystwyth, Wales, was attended by the president of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand, Mr. L. J. Wild, who is at present in England. Among the 400 delegates, representing 37 different countries, was Mr. Bruce Levy, of New Zealand, whose work is held in high esteem abroad. In a report to the society Mr. Wild deals informatively with the work of the congress and with the extensive experiments which are being carried out at Welsh research stations.

i The International Grassland Congress of 1937 met at Aberystwyth, Wales, for the reading and discussion of papers after a preliminary tour of the main centres in England, where grassland investigations are being undertaken, says Mr. Wild. There were several delegates from New Zealand, of whom the chief was Mr. Bruce Levy. Not the least benefit of such meetings is the Inspiration derived from hearing workers in other countries outlining the work they are doing, and its results, and the fresh ideas got by discussions both inside and outside the lecture halls. For this reason I was glad to see that our Government had sent at least one official representative. Aberystwyth is a pleasant town on the coast of Wales, very popular as a seaside and health resort. More important, it is the seat of the University College of Wales, the College of Agriculture, and the Welsh Plant-breeding Station and Grassland Research Station. Professor R. G. Stapleton, who has visited New Zealand, is in charge of the stations, and he was the president of the congress this year. Plant-breeding Station. During the congress we were taken on excellently organised tours to the plant-breeding station and to the Cahn Hill improvement scheme. The work of the plant-breeding station is based on Professor Stapleton’s argument that for every grassland region appropriate strains of grasses and forage plants should be bred, and from them seed supplies made available. The plants on which work has been most energetic are ryegrass, cocksfoot, timothy, red fescue, and the clovers, but I observed also some improved strains of oats. I was interested, of course, in the results of trials with New Zealand seeds, and was Informed that our ryegrass does not manifest on the Welsh hills the characteristic longevity associated with it in our own country; as regards white clover, they claim to have produced strains more suited to their own conditions, and the same applies to cocksfoot. The Cahn Hill property comprises 3000 acres of land, ranging in elevation from 1000 to 1850 feet, distant about 15 miles from Aberystw’yth and carrying originally herbage ranging from the

1 very inferior grasses to moss and a harsh sort of tussock grass (Molinla). The land is at present leased, but I understand a purchase price of about £5OOO is in the terms of the lease, which gives an idea of its value. The main methods of improvement under trial are: (1) Ploughing, fallowing and re-grassing; (2) rotary cultivation, fallowing with subsequent burning of surface dry vegetation and regrassing; (3) drastic harrowing, Whakatane harrows being used, followed by seeding and manuring; (4) top-dressing with or without white clover seed. We were told that the best results were obtained from ploughing, which is not surprising considering the character of the vegetation. “Articles of Belief.” At. the first full meeting of the congress we had addresses of welcome by the mayor of Aberystwyth, by Mr. Bryner Jones, Welsh secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, and by Lord Bledisloe. In the presidential address Professor Stapleton gave “the articles of his belief,” -which I can best pass on by a series of quotations. . . . “Grass marries the soil to the animal, and the solid foundation of agriculture is the marriage of animal and soil.” “We are the salt of the earth—for grass is our care, and grass is the core of the agricultural Industry.” “The proper use of grass is a matter of the right implements, the right fertilisers and pre-eminently of the right seeds." “Find or breed the right legume, and you have got tolerably good grassland.” “The problem is threefold, first how to produce grass at the seasons of the year when it is most urgently needed; secondly, how to use grass so as progressively to increase soil fertility; thirdly, how to manage so that the animal always has young succulent grass of maximum nutritive fertility.” “Swards will recover from the most villainous of mal-practices if such malpractices are not repeated at the same time of the year, year after year. Hence the need for rotational management all over the farm.” “The most effective way to ensure soil fertility is to plough up a grassland that will take the plough at regular intervals.” “White clover —always white clover.”