AUTUMN SOWING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20186, 2 March 1940, Page 14

AUTUMN SOWING

PERMANENT PASTURE BEST DONE IN MARCH ADVJCE TO FARMERS PRODUCTION COUNCIL Autumn sowing is usually best clone in March, so long as conditions are right for the provision of a suitable seed bed. In order to give advice to farmers so that they may be able lo increase production in the war-time effort, the Poverty Bay Primary Production Council has provided information on the matter. In the North Island grass is normally sown down after rape, or after green feed cereals or after oats grown for chafT, or after a summer fallow following a root crop. Occasionally pastures are sown from grass to grass after a fallow period. The summer fallow after a root crop allows ample opportunity for the preparation of the soil and the sowing of the seed at the right time. Under most North Island conditions March sowing gives . the best results, the warmth and moisture of the soil being such as to make for the rapid and strong establishment of seedlings. Sowing of Itape The sowing of grass after rape frequently involves a later sowing than is desirable. It may be wiser not to wait for a second growth of rape but to prepare the soil for pasture immediately the first crop has been fed off. After rape, discing rather than ploughing gives better results for preparing the soil for grass seed. Whatever the preceding crop or the method of preparation, the objective is to obtain a fine firm seed-bed. Clovers in particular require a fine firm seedbed, as is evidenced by experience in developmental work in pumice areas. Rolling at time of sowing is advisable unde® dry conditions, but except on very dry light soils it is not advisable if there is a probability of a heavy downpour. Tramping by stock on the furrows or rolling the furrows is a valuable aid to consolidation on hillcountry particularly. After the seed is sown, one stroke of the tine harrows should be given. The sowing of phosphatic fertiliser with the seed is also highly desirable. To obtain a good well-balanced pasture, the establishment of clovers is essential. In the first place it should not be necessary to emphasise the necessity for sowing clovers, but many farmers rely on “self-sown” clover appearing in the pasture; as a rule the results are poor to indifferent. Certified white clover at the rate of 21b. per acre should be sown in all permanent pasture mixtures. Growth Before Frosts Secondly, for tine proper establishment of white clover, and of timothy and cocksfoot, the sowing date must be sufficiently early to ensure that these pasture plants are well grown' before the frosts and will not be crowded out by the more robust growth of ryegrass. Under normal conditions the sowing of oats or barley with grass seed is not beneficial and may even be harmful. Only in exposed situations or at a late sowing should this method be adopted, when a light sowing of \ to ii bushel of oats per acre may be added to the seed mixture. The first grazing of pastures newly sown in March may often be obtained in the late autumn, but it must be in sufficient time to allow recovery before the frosts. The "topping” of established grassland areas in March, and harrowing as soon as good rains occur, are two methods for fostering the production of leafy feed in late autumn.