HELD IN RESPECT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22510, 13 December 1947, Page 8

HELD IN RESPECT

PEAS EX_GISBORNE HIGH QUALITY SEED BIGGEST BEAN PRODUCER Although Marlborough is still considered fo be the pea-growing province of the Dominion, Gisborne enjoys the favourable conditions required for the luscious growth of the Stratagem-Onward type. Gisborne is probably the largest producer of beans when compared with any other province in the Dominion. These remarks were made by the managing director of Arthur Yates and Company, Limited, Mr. N. W. Yates, prior to his recent departure for Auckland after an inspection lour of the Gisborne and East Coast districts. “New Zealand has a good name in the garden pea trade, an export trade in which the country has been participating for half a century,” he said. The demand for New Zealand garden peas was from England and Australia and to a lesser degree South Africa. During the between-war siump England, unable to purchase the higherpriced New Zealand article, secured her supplies from Europe and Morocco. Mr. Yates understood Morocco was again back in the market, but English buyers were inclined to look askance at that product because of reliability in regard to strain. Central Europe out of Picture With Hungary under Russian domination and the Danube basin, a prominent pre-war supplier of world markets, also in the melting pot supplies from those sources were considered to be quite out of the picture for some years. Despite the vicissitudes of the trade, Mr. Yates considered that New Zealand would always have an export market. The Gisborne area in peas had increased tremendously over the past seven or eight years, but he was of the opinion that there would be an outlet for as much as could be produced. The varieties of .seeds produced in the Gisborne district are of high quality and better than South Island as far as yields are concerned. Despite the high yields, Mr. Yates said there was no appreciable lowering of the germination. All varieties of mother seed were produced in Marlborough, where his organisation had the staff to carry out the necessary roguing. There was no attempt to do a great deal of that work here, Mr. Yates continued. There were always some rogues in the Gisborne crops, but it was usually found that the seed was quite safe and would not show any appreciable run back in a year. With the seed of main varieties a fresh start was made each year. “Would Like to see Rain” “The pea fields are looking very well, but I would like to see rain,” said Mr. Yates, when asked to comment on the state of the crops in view of the continued dry weather. “If it rains now the yields will be equally as good as they were last season. It is when the flower appears that you want rain, and if you get rain then it will add about 50 per cent, to a crop. A large percentage of the crops are at that stage now.” Making his point clearer, he said the ideal time for rain was when the first set of pods was half-filled or at the flat stage and top shoots in full bloom. The fertile flat lands in Gisborne, however, had the capacity of holding on better than almost any other part of New Zealand. Speaking of the fields he had inspected on the East Coast, Mr. Yates said the crops there were in various stages of growth, with some doing equally as well as those on the Gisborne flats. Some farmers were just sowing their crops. No Cutting Before Christmas None : of the crops would be ready for cutting before Christmas, but he expected that some .of the first in would be from the Muriwai district. However, the stage of growth was such that many a farmer’s wife would be able to get a good picking for the Christmas meals. The suitability of Gisborne as a bean growing district is well known to Mr. Yates and, as mentioned earlier, he classes Gisborne as probably the largest producer among the provinces. Blenheim was not growing as many beans as previously because of the district’s susceptibility to late frosts. Gisborne had the advantage with its areas free of damaging frosts. Mr. Yates said he was aware of the difficulties attending bean cropping, inincluding its frost-tenderness, labour and the longer time taken to bring it to maturity. However, growers should bear in mind that beans were not grown in sufficiently large numbers even to

keep the New Zealand market fully supplied. At this time of the year Mr. Yates inspects' crops to check on their trueness to type and to estimate the number of rogues in the various areas under cultivation. By this means he keeps in close touch with the progress of the season’s production.