FIELD NOTES FOR OCTOBER

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 8 October 1924, Page 8

FIELD NOTES FOR OCTOBER

(Supplied by J. W. Deem, Instructor 11 in Agriculture, Fields Division, ° Department of Agriculture). I P Pastures.—Care should be taken dur- ? ing this month to see that pastures are evenly grazed, and if there is indica- ? tion that stocks are neglecting portions of the field every endeavour should be a made to have these portions cleaned up *- by dry stock so that the growth will a be even during the summer. ? Cereal Crops.—These are now making good growth, but there are instances where the laud has been wet or the a farmer delayed with his cultivation that 1 land intended for cereals had. not- yet * been sown. In such cases barley o:r a quick maturing varieties of oats may £ still be sown. Black skinless and Cape | barley or Ruakura oats are good varie- * ties for late sowing. i They should be <3 so,wn at the rate of three b.ushels per 1 acre, and manured with superphosphate ' at the rate of 1 to 2-cwt per acre, ae- 1 cording to. the quality of the land. It a is more, necessai’y to manure a late a crop than an. early one, as it-must be c pushed atong-to make the best of the t short growing period. Peas for harvest- I ing or lamb fattening do ..well sown f during this month. Varieties and man- s hires were dealt with last- month. 1 Root Crops.—The preparation of land 1 intended for root crops —mangolds, l carrots and soft turnips—should be i pushed along so that sowings may start s any time after the middle of October, f according to situation of the farm and 1 the particular field to be sown. In j warm situations sowing may be done. ) any time after the first week in Octo- i her, but in eouder and higher localities 1 it- is better to leave it until the end 1 of the month. i .Turnip's.—The white varieties take j on the average about 12 weeks from the date of sowing to be ready for feeding. Good varieties are Purple Top Mammoth, Red Paragon, and Hardy or Imperial Green Globe. If an area of these are sown at the same time they may he fed off in the order named. The area in Purple Top Mammoth should be small, a fair area of Red Paragon, and the main crop Green Glpbe. On new land/they are best sewn on the flat through every second coulter of the drill. Seed at the rate of lOozs per acre. If the land is dirty sow on ridges 24 to 26 inches apart, so as to be able to give plenty, of intercultivatioli, seeding at- the rate of lib 6f seed:per acre. Basic super is a very suitable manure, of mixtures of -half super and half ephos, ; bonedust, or Nauru at the rate of 3cwts per 1 acre, or made up turnip manures at the same rate er acre. - . . Mangolds. —Owing to the difficulty nc.w experienced in growing swedes, the mangold is becoming more and more the main root crop, both for the-sheep and for the dairy farmer. Among the best varieties are Prizewinner, Yellow Globe, White Sugar, Jersey Queen, and Red Intermediate. In some localities Golden Tankard gives * very satisfactory returns. Generally the Prizewinner gives the heaviest yield, -and seems to do well under all sorts of soil and climatic conditions; at the same time White Sugar is running it very close in many districts. White Sugar is a wonderful germinator, and gets into* the .second leaf very rapidly, .and in this direction beats all other , varieties. Jersey Queen and Red Inter-mediato'-'seem to do best in the warmer situations. During the past season a good deal of heart-rot was found in mangolds, the Yellow Globe varieties being by far the most affected, in fact, very little was found in White. Sugar, Jersey Queen, or Red Intermediate. Farmers who have been troubled with the rot would be well advised to try one of the latter varieties. Prizewinner harrows out easily, and is therefore very •suitable for sheep. ' Where mangolds are being grown for cow feeding it is good practice to sow two or more varieties, as cows appear to like a change. Amongst the new varieties onthe markets, Crosse and Sons’ “Golden Globe” and Garten’s “White Knight” give promise of being good sorts. Mangolds should he sown in drills 21 to. 28 inches apart, 24 to 26 inches being ideal for horse work. The globe varieties may he sown closer in the drills than varieties like long red and white sugar, which grow large tops. It'is a great mistake to sow mangolds in narrow drills, and have to do all the cultivation by hand instead of sowing a little wider and doing the cultivation by means of the horse hoe. Seeding should be done at- the rate of from 4 to 61bs per acre. Mangolds are gross feeders, and the manuring should he generous. Not less thbn 3cwfcs per acre should- be applied, but from 4 to 6 ewts will be found profitable on most farms. Mangolds like a complete manure and for this reason most of the special mangold manures on the market are giving very satisfactory results. Mixtures of 3cwt- super, 2cwts bonedust, ephos, or Nauru and half cwt. sulphate potash will give good results. Salt is also very beneficial, and this should be broadcasted at- the rate of 3cwts 'per acre, for preference just before the 1 seed is sown. Spent salt from the hide shed is very suit aide and cheap for this purpose. Instead of the sulphate of potash and salt, kainit at the rate of 3cwts tier acre may he 'used to advantage, as this provides both potash and salt. Carrots. —The carrot crop is very valuable for all sorts of stock, and particularly suitable for feeding to dairy cows during the winter and early spring before the mangolds are ready for feeding. Matchless White, White Belgian and Sinclair’s Champion are the best -varieties for this purpose. Some people have the idea that the red carrots are very much higher in feeding value than the white, but recent analysis made by the department indicate that there is not a great deal of difference, and it resolves itself into the question of which variety will give the best crop in any particular district. In most localities the white varieties give heavier yields than the red. Where the area grown is small sow in 14-inch drills, ancl give hand cultivation; if larger areas are to be grown they should be sown in drills 21 to 26 inches apart,. so as to he able to

give intereultivation bv means of the horse hoe.. . The heaviest crop weighed on this coast, 67 tons, was grown in drills 27 inches apart. One pound of seed per acre/ is ample; manures as recommended for mangolds at from 3 to scwt per acre are very suitable, but the salt may be omitted. Rape, Kales, Chou Moullier, etc. — Early sowings of these crops may be made any time after the firsts week in October, but usualiv about the end of the month is early enough. Chou Moullier may be sown a week or two sooner than rape or Buda kale. In clean land these crops are best sown on the flat through every second coulter of the drill. If the land is dirty they should bo sown in drills 24 to 30 inches apart, either on the flat or on ridges, the latter for preference, to allow of intercultivation to control weeds. If the crop is being grown to be fed green to cows manures containing nitrogen, such as made-up rape manures or mixtures of half super and half blood and bone, 3 to 4cwt per acre, give the best results. For lamb fattening pure phosphatic manures like basic super, or mixtures of half super and haif either Ephos or Nauru, will be found very satisfactory. Chou Moullier requires rather heavier

manuring than either rape or Buda kale. There has been a lot of enquiry recently about Chou Moullier, its advocates claiming that it will not taint lilk and that it is not subject to the rdinary diseases affecting rape and >uda kale. Feeding tests in various arts go to show that it does not taint lilk to any extent if judiciously fed. eing a vigorous grower, it is not so asily affected with club root as rape, ut in badly affected land it becomes victim to it. It is also stronger and Higher than rape, consequently' the phis and diamond back moth do not ttack' it so readily. It is useful for imb fattening, but they do not take a it so readily or fatten so quickly s they do on rape, and its best purose is for cattle feeding. It is ready 3r grazing in from 14 to 16 weeks fter sowing, and may either be razed or cut and carted out. If not razed too hard it will give several sedings during the season. If not reuired for early autumn feeding it lay be left standing right into the 'inter. Rape and Buda kale should e sown at the rate of 24 to 31b per ore, but from 1 to 141 bof seed is in pie for Chou Moullier. If sown in. rills the plants are best thinned out o about 20 inches in the drills. ;The lants may be grown in the garden, nd then transplanted into permanent ituations. This enables the land to aye extra working to destroy weeds, n transplanting large areas the work nay be done by opening a furrow With he plough, placing plants in position, nd covering the roots with the next urrow. If the land is dry they are test dibbled in the same as cabbage dants. When transplanting put the ilants two feet apart in the drills. The manure may either be broadcasted beore the furrows are opened or scatered along the furrow before the ilants are set in position, the same as s done when planting potatoes.