WAIAPU CYCLE OF CROPS TO GRASS NOW CONCLUDING

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22887, 5 March 1949, Page 6

WAIAPU CYCLE OF CROPS TO GRASS NOW CONCLUDING

INTEREST IN WHEAT

As the cropping cycle designed to bring in new expanses of pasture land in the Waiapu Valley, East Coast, is nearing completion, experiments are being carried out privately to revive interest in wheat as a crop.

Forty or 50 years ago wheat was grown extensively by farmers on the Tikitiki and Rangitukia river flats and then it lost favour as a crop for some reason or other.

Since the start of the cropping programme by the Department of Maori Affairs three seasons ago hundreds of acres in the valley have been recovered from rushes and second growth of sorts. This land is now back in pasture or coming back and largely will be used for dairying. Decline in Area Expected

In the current season there have been about 250 acres under crops. Next season it is expected that there will be considerably less. Three years ago maize was the popular medium for breaking the ground and preparing it for the pasture to follow. A harvester made its first appearance in the Valley last season to gather in the pea crop and peas were largely grown this last planting season, one of their main advantages being that the fanner could get back more quickly into grass. A cursory inspection of the area shows that much remains to be done. Large tracts of land still lie almost Idle, including: rush and gorse-covcred land understood to belong to Maori farmers not under departmental control. Those areas would respond to the correct treatment.

Pea yields-in the Waiapu are believed to be satisfactory, despite the nature of the season and the Shortage of harvesting equipment. Their 25 to 30 bushel average would not be considered good in Gisborne, but neither are the land values comparable. Wheat as a crop was re-introduced into the Waiapu this season by a Gisborne contractor, Mr. T. C. Reichenbach who recently completed the harvesting of 50 acres in the Ruatoria area. There was some light and heavy ground in that block and Mr. Reiclienbach said his yield fro mthe 10 acres of heavier land averaged 44 bushels to the acre. The lighter ground did not do so well. Blind Heads in Wheat

He used spring wheat, Tainui, and there were large numbers of blind heads. The crop probably was checked by dry weather after the sowing, he said. Not disillusioned by his results, Mr. Reichenbach stated that he would now like to test the value of the variety, Cross 7, an autumn wheat, which should do better under the conditions in the valley. He was prepared to put in 100 acres if the land was available. In the experiment with the Tainui wheat, Mr. Reichenbach said he had sown a pasture mixture with it. There was ryegrass, cow grass, mother white clover and red clover. The pasture became well established and looked beautiful, but then seemed to die out leaving only the clovers. There was a green caterpillar there in its thousands—about seven to the square foot—and it was not the Army worm that was giving trouble in the Gisborne area this season. The caterpillar seemed to eat out the ryegrass. It had not touched the wheat.

However, cows were put on to the paddock when the harvesting was completed and they showed a 101 b increase on their first milking. Other crops in the district this season have included barley for green feed and oats for chaff after the harvest.