LAND DECLINE: MUST RESOW ALL HILL COUNTRY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22669, 21 June 1948, Page 4

LAND DECLINE: MUST RESOW ALL HILL COUNTRY

(S.R.) HASTINGS, Julie 21. ‘‘We must become more grass conscious; if ive do that we will carry more stock and do that stock better,” declared Mr. E. Bruce Levy, Director of the Grasslands Research Division, Falmcrston North, in an address to the East Coast Sheepfarmcrs' Conference in Napier. Mr. Levy advocated special purpose pastures, as a means of increasing capacity of deteriorating hill-country.

Burning of the country once the sward had been established was condemned. A good deal of pasture on the East Coast had gone, he said. The danthonia swards used to be burned periodically to clean them up, but that practice had. as it should, practically gone by the board. Cattle for Preference Where cattle could be got on to the country it was preferable to leave the flrestick alone. It was important to sow appropriate species of grasses. Any ground that could be ploughed or turned over by rotary discs should be handled in that way as a means of ending secondary growth. Mr. Levy believed much could be done to improve hill country by an alteration in grazing management, and hv using hard grasses and tor>d> - essing. Close continuous grazing had been ove-done on many Fast Coast hill properties. He reviewed the traits of individual farmers to show how hill-country was either made or broken. “It is not the land we must wicHpv. hut the individual we put on (he land, and the way we t'-eat him when we net him on,” he said. On countrv carrying one to II ewes to the acre the grasslands would never be made satisfactory with a danthonia sward and a few small annual clovers which gave a lift hi feed but no sustained added production. ■ Subterranean clover, where it had been sown on secondary burns, had nrobeblv proved a greater pioneer on the Fast Coast, than any other plant. Had it net been for this elover on this coast. Mr. Levy doubted whether on some of the country a step up in productivity could have been obtained. When a carrying capacity of three ewes to the acre was reached improvement could bo seen, and it would be maintained. Better Clover Needed “I have a hunch that we have got to start and resow the whole of our hill country.” Mr. Levy averred. “The better clover was needed if farmers were to get the best use of superphosphate and lime. They must get the clover working again in the danthonia and brown top swards. Top-dressing, too. was essential and they would not get very far towards the three to four ewes to the acre goal without. Without much attention the New Zealand land, he thought, could be stabilised at about one to If ewes to the acre. but. with the introduction of clovers, fertilisers, more fencing and better control they could look forward to getting on most hill-country three to 31 sheep to the acre. A terrific mistake was made by the Government and the farmers themselves in removing the fertiliser subsidy. Farmers should not rest till the hill-country was receiving its fair share of ohosnhate and the carrying capacity had been raised to three to four ewes.

While subterranean clover was one of the greatest assets on the East Coast il had some drawbacks, Mr. Levy continued. Being an annual it dried out and left bare ground in the summer. The growth of sub-clover had a strangling effect on other components in Hie sward.

Where conditions warranted such a course, Mr. Levy recommended changing over from a low-producing perennial sward to high-producing swards of annuals. If they could sow sub-clover in the soring so that It did not smother the ryegrass then it should be possible to keep a fairly good balance. Too Much Traffic on Sunny Slopes

During the past decade or more there had been a trend on the East Coast to raise the stocking from one to l£ ewes to from three to 31 ewes, and as a result farmers were getting more ryegrass where it had not been smothered out by sub-clover. With the increased carrying capacity they were getting more traffic on the windswept faces and hill-tops. This was a disconcerting feature as too much traffic on the sunny slopes and camning on the knobs, aided by the rabbits, was laying the ground bare in the summer and exposed to the influence of erosion. Probably the only practical solution was to fence those areas off and plant them in trees. Under present practice, as soon as the autumn rains came stork’s bill and thistle flourished on the overdone knobs. Mr Levy offered two theories for corrective treatment. It might be possible to incoroorafe on the knobs more hardy perennial plants such as phalaris tuberosa or pasoalum, or the answer might be found in a certain amount of harrowing and sowing in annual grasses of better quality than those cornin'-' in at present such as Italian ryegrass or short rotation ryegrass. If they could find something which would persist on the knobs, it would not be necessary to do fencing, which, of course, was at present impossible.