DANTHONIA LAND

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 236, 18 September 1936, Page 11

DANTHONIA LAND

Improvement Not Impossible USE OF FERTILISER Although danthonia is not without its uses, under proper pasture management it will give good feeding results. Kept in a closely grazed condition, stock will carry wuil ou it. This is borne out by the returns from wellmanaged farms in tfie Mangatahi district. Danthonia country can be controlled, and being attracted by super the hill country pasturalist has a means of improvement that is an effective counter to irretrievable deterioration. According to Mr Guthrie-Smith, of Tutira, danthonia was a rare grass in 1882, but since the vegetative covering of many hills has changed from rye and clovers to danthonia and has depreciated accordingly. The application of a sound economic policy will undoubtedly lead to an improvement which must, be followed by practical farming. Probably the largest area of readily improvable hill-country that we have is that great range of country given over to Danthonia (states Mr W. Alexander in the “Manawatu Tinies”). We find it everywhere—north, east, south and west; w-e find it on the coast, and we find it away inland, and always —except for a few short months in the spring—just like a -whitish-grey blanket over the land. The term “Danthonia country” has come to be accepted as a fairly definite description of that land that carries a little over a sheep to the acre. Very often this Danthonia country is easy to grade, is not far above sea-level, and almost all can be ridden over. The improvement of this Danthouia pasture is not an impossible undertaking, and I venture to say that in almost every case it is a sound, economic policy. The hills were not always clothed in Danthonia. MB GUTHRIE-SMITH'B EXPERIENCE. Mr. Guthrie-Smith, of Tutira Station, Hawke’s Bay, writing in 1930, states: “It sounds incredible, but as late as 1882 danthonia was a rare grass, so infrequent tk ' I remember noting with interest a few clumps gone to seed on a certain spot on the old pack-trail, and on another occasion pausing to inspect a flourishing single plant, also in seed, on Tutira.” In 54 years the vegetative covering on the hills has changed i from rye. cocksfoot and clovers, to an association of danthonia and trefoil. It has not. taken 54 years to bring about that change, but even if it did, the change came too quickly. From ryeto danthonia is a retrograde

step, just how much so is told by Mr. Guthrie-Smith again -when he says, “Whilst between 1908 and 1929, 50 per cent, more ground has become available for stock, no increase of stock has taken place. This great spread of grass has enlarged the sum total of food by nothing.” There is only one way of getting the hill country back into satisfactory production, and that is by returning to the soil some of the fertility taken out of it in the years that have passed. Top-dressing with super is sure in .its result, providing always that due care and common sense are exercised id the handling of the live stock on the topdressed area. You would say it would be folly to apply top-dressing fertilisers to an area of hill country without increasing the stock to be carried, yet that is exactly what happens on occasions, and because the stock does no good, the fertiliser is blamed. Even on the hills the feed must be kept in hand if stock are going to thrive.

•FIRST EFFECT OF TOP-DRESSING. The first effect of top-dressing danthonia country is to bring out more boldly the trefoil associated with the native grass. The danthonia is undoubtedly made more attractive by the super, and it soon takes on a green and more closely-grazed condition. A second application of super will hasten the change-over from trefoil to white clover, and the return of the white clover suggests that ryegras is not far away. The hill-country pastoralist has to-day a most effective weapon to use against aggressive foes of the brackenfern, manuka and danthonia types. He does not now need to sit down and watch his laud deteriorate, he can take control and retain it. “Not long ago,” wrote Mr. Guthrie-Smith in 1930, “grass-farmers would have had to content themselves with merely marking time, utilising to the full deeprooting species such as rats-tail, and self-feeding plants like suckling 1 clover and trefoil. At the best, it would have been a dreary business watching the irretrievable deterioration of their pasture lands. Nowadays, with, excellent tuition from our New Zealand agricultural authorities, aud with cheap fertilisers, they can confidently look to a brighter future.” In concluding the subject of the improvement. of hill-country pastures, I. would like to refer to the possibilities of paspalum in this connection. Paspalum has been used with great success at Limestone Downs, Port Waikato, where it has been surface-grown on slips and on clearing-up burns. Ono hesitates to recommend for general use a grass species that definitely throws the bulk of its feed during the dry period of the year. One realises the

danger of a grass like paspalum obtaining possession, m which case the wintercarrying capacity would be seriously affected. Notwithstanding these risks,

I would suggest that a little paspalum introduced on to some of our danthonia country would be an advantage. We have seen how paspalum' and ryegrass behave in the same pasture, aud it is recognised that they are not in competition, each having its own maximum production period. At Limestone Downs, paspalum seems to be rather selective in the matter of soil conditions, in that it is establishing itself mostly on thu heavier and wetter flats. It has also taken very well where sown on slips, and though slow in establishment it is ing able to keep that country together. Under regular topdressing paspalum throws a lot of very palatable feed which is most welcome in a dry summer. I would suggest that where any burning or clearing up is done in the spring or early summer, a few pounds uf paspalum should be sown either alone or with other seeds over the burn.