FIELD WORK.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 2 April 1927, Page 14

FIELD WORK.

NOTES FOR APRIL. (By J. W. Deem.) The ploughing of stubble land intended to be sown in an autumn crop should bo pushed along as soon as the land is soft enough to get the plough into it. Where it is intended to let a field lie fallow over the winter, there is nit so much hurry; all the same, it is a good policy to get this work done before the wet weather sets in. The heavy type of soils are greatly benefited by a fallow, but the light volcanic soils should not be allowed to lie fallow during the wet pcrid, as considerable leaching takes place, and cn this sort of land it is advisable to sow a cereal crop for feeding off. April and May are good months to sow oats, particularly Algerian, for a hay or grass crop. It gets well established befre the wet season sets in, tablished before the wet season sets in, rides one or more good late winter or spring feedings, and is ready to harvest from the middle to the end of December, and usually saved before caterpillars or rust get bad. This season, many of the late spring sown oat crops, even Algerian, became sc badly infested with rust as not to be worth cutting. Sow at the rate of 2-1 bushels per acre. Suitable manures are superphosphate or two purls super and one part Nauru phosphate; If to 21 cwt per acre, according to the quality of the land, and the previous crop.

in preparing a seed for autumn sown cereals, care should bo taken to see that the soil is worked down fine underneath, if possible leaving the surface a bit lumpy. The rough surface provides shelter for the young plants, and to some extent prevents the surface running together. PASTURES. Both permanent and temporary pastures may still be sown, but the

sooner the better. Where the sewing cannot be done until the end of April, it, is good practice to sow about a bushel of white oats or barley to provide shelter for .the young grass and clovers, and, snc.idontly, a bit of early feeding for stock. This' cover should not be allowed to get too long, and care should be taken not to feed it off when the land is wet and not too hard. The proper practice is to graze it off and quickly so as to give the finer plants a chance to get properly rooted. TOP-DRESSING. April is a good mouth to push on with this work on hill country, so as to make use of the fine weather. Later, when the hills become wet and slippery, great difficulty is experienced in getting the material on to tiie ground, and the costs of applying are materially increased. The chief requirement of the (land on this ccast is phosphates, and these are best supplied in the form of basic slag, super, basic super, half super and half Nauru phosphate, and bonemeal. Bonemeal is too expensive, and cannot be recommended for top-dressing hill country. Slag gives splendid results in most places, but when the extra . cost per ton as compared with super, basic super, and Nauru phosphate is considered, coupled with the disability of applying by hand, super, half super half Nauru, or basic super can be recommended with confidence. Super will give the quickest returns, but. the half super half Nauru or basic super are likely to have a better building effect on the pastures. From i! to -! cwt per acre is a good dressing where it is being applied for the first time. Where the land has already been topdressed during the last two or three years, .1 cwt less per acre should prove satisfactory. At present prices, super two to three cwt, or half super half Nauru, or basic super three to four cwt per acre, can be recommended with confidence, and farmers are strongly advised to take advantage of the present market, and apply as much as possible. There are several appliances on the market for distributing manure on hill country, and some of these are referred to. by Mr. McCulloch, instructor in agriculture, Palmerston North, in the “Journal of Agriculture" for February, 1027, Page 10(5. April is also a good month to apply lime to pastures. LUCERNE'.

Old stands that have not been cultivated during the autumn may still have attention. It is a mistake to give much autumn cultivation, one good cleaning up on the lines advised lastmonth being quite sufficient unless the stand is very dirty. Algerian oats or Italian Ryegrass, 1 bushel per acre, "’may still be sown oit the lucerne stands, and after the .middle of April oats are to be preferred to Ryegrass. It' the land is dirty, and likely to get into grass and weeds vapidly after cultivation, black silkloss barley or white oats should be used to get quick cover rather than the slower growing Algerian, but for

general purposes the latter are the most suitable. Established lucerne fields will greatly benefit by a dressing of lime at this time of the year, say from 10 to 20 cwt per acre, followed by a good dressing of super in the spring.