H.B. CERTIFIED RYE SEED

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 160, 22 June 1935, Page 9

H.B. CERTIFIED RYE SEED

Tribute from South Island

From time to time complaints arc made by South Island farmers that Hawke’s Bay perennial rye-grass is not so suited to southern farming conditions as their own local strains, a common complaint bciug that tho Hawke’s Bay strain is not relished So much by stock That there is not much foundation for these claims has been indicated-on several occasions by Hawke’s Bay farmers who have visited the Southern provinces and discussed the question of palatability and permanence with farmers in these areas, and have found that, generally, the Hawke’s Bay strain has more than held its own against these local types. The “Otago Daily Times,” in a recent issue, paid a splendid tribute to Hawke’s Bay rye-grass in its farming columns, the article being illustrated with a picture of two pastures, one sown in Hawke’s Bay certified seed, and the other with the ordinary variety. The difference is most striking, and can lead the reader to only one conclusion. One of the most notable avenues of research followed by the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture has concerned the purity and reliability of farm seeds, states the “Times.” By a system of careful examination and certification it has been found possible to make available to farmers strains of grass and other small seeds that are true to type, reliable in germination and free from weed and other impunities. Special work has been carrieo out in this sphere with respect to ryegrass, and as a result the character and quality of ryegrass pastures, and m fact ail pastures carrying a heavy percentage of ryegrass, have been greatly improved. Close research and constant trial and experimentation have disclosed special and unusual qualities of permanence and purity in Hawke’s Bay ryegrass, and as a result this strain has been put to general use in all parts of the Dominion with marked success.

The Hawke’s Bay strain exhibits its purity and germination by producing a heavy pasture with undoubted permanent characteristics. It has grown strongly for four years, and has cnoked out the weeds and less useful grasses to provide ideal feed, cither for grazing or for hay. The Southland type has failed dismally in its fight against weeds and lesser grasses, and after only two years it has almost disappeared. There can be no permanence in such a pasture, vv hich probably started off behind “scratch” because the uncertified seed carried weed impurities as well as short-lived characteristics.