SEASONABLE FARM WORK.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LI, Issue 6, 6 December 1930, Page 5

SEASONABLE FARM WORK.

ROOT AND FODDER CROPS.

(By “Ploughshare.”)

The sowing of spring crops and other seasonal work has been delayed this year by the weather conditions which have prevailed, especially during the past n:onth or six week 3. Measured in inches the actual rainfall has not been excestive, but the intermittent showers have been accompanied with persistenb cold and boisterous winds which; in " the absence of warm sunshine, have retarded, growth very considerably,. The result has been that much of the farm work usually done in November has been held over pending more favourable conditions. Sowings of mangels and early root crops have not come away readily and the seed germination is said to be indifferent. Weeds, however, seem to thrive under almost any conditions and especially in a season such as the present when the ground has been too damp to effectively use the cultivator. However, there now seems a prospect of a period of more genial weather and there is still time to sow with bettor prospects for success. Mangels, for instance, never do very well until the soil has been well warmed and it is quite likely that seed town now wiff show quite as good or better results than those secured from earlier sowings which have been hampered by incongenial conditions and have become more or less choked with weeds. This is a season where transplanting from a nursery bed is shown to advantage. No great difficulty would have been entailed in having plants ready now for setting out into the permanent plot.. The trouble with weeds would have been avoided and the time spent in transplanting would not be any greater than is required for cleaning and thinning the rows. Where growth is late the important work of weeding the mangel crop becomes pressing just at a time when other essential work such as haymaking requires attention, so that for the next months or so there will not be many idle hours. The earliest possible chance to get the mangel plot in good shape should be availed of, because if once the weeds get too well established it means a greatly diminished crop and often a total failure. Having consideration for the heavy yield per acre that can be taken off a well grown crop of mangels, and the great feeding value of this root when other stock food is in short suppiy, a small outlay in extra labour is a good investment. * TURNIPS AND SWEDES.

Land that is now being worked for soft turnips and swedes will bo in better order. The more the toil is cultivated the better the crop will respond. A good teed bed will retain the moisture in dry weather usually experienced after Janu-, ary and often makes all the difference between a really good crop and a poor one. It is noticed that some farmers are only now ploughing paddocks out of grass for their swede corps. The general custom years ago was to plough and sow the seed as soon as the seed bed could be got ready. Quite accidentally in this district it was discovered that in a field in which ploughing had been commenced and for some reason was delayed for a few weeks before completion the subsequent crop of roots was far superior and grew more readily on those portions when the land had been turned up to the weather the longest. Afterwards the Department of Agriculture conducted a senes of tests along these lines when it was found that invariably the percentage of gain in yield in favour of the early ploughed areas was almost double. When the ploughing has been unavoidably delayed it will bo' an advantage to let it lie exposed to the weather as long as possible before the seed is sown even if it means waiting till the end of January. Some farmers favour early sowing so as to. give the young swede plants a chance to get well developed before the aphis makes its appearance in the early autumn.’ Others favour sowing at about the ehti.’ bf January, but'it ail I depends on the season. If droughty conditions prevail in ' the autumn, late-sown crops have rather a bad time, but if, on the other hand, there is enough rain to keep growth moving, splendid crops are often obtained. A practice growing in popularity is to sow a mixture of swedes and chou moellier. In the event of the swedes not being a complete success the chou moellier will still provide a . lot of feeding and, being a blight resister and a good keeper, is very useful in late winter or early spring. BLIGHT RESISTANT SWEDES. One of the most prevalent diseases which seriously affect swedes and other crops of the same family is club root, and one of the reasons why the cultivation of swedes in particular has been restricted is this trouble. Throughout root growing countries investigations *~ a,v ? been made for many years in an effort to discovery an effective means of controlling club root, both by experiments with soil and by plant breeding with a view to securing a strain of seed which will resist the disease. It has been found that liberal liming for several ye^ rs on affected areas has a deterring effect on the disease. From experiments conducted by the Department of "Agriculture at Gore, spread over ten years, the value of lime is supported, but it would appear that the effect of lime in this connection is not apparent until some years after the application has been made, it has always been recognised, says a report, that individual roots within a crop of turnips show a marked resistance to club root disease. Numerous trials ha-vo been made at the Gore experimental area with the object of ascertaining it the claims made by certain breeders ot turnip seed in regard to club root resistance were justified, and in the majori y of cases negative results have been o tained. Of all the trials conducted since 1923 the most promising results in swede varieties were obtained from the & & holm, and, in turnips, from H’ vln ° s Green Top Yellow. In 1928 the Department of Agriculture obtained from

*”, k . “ unproved strain of Bangholm co 6 nri k ™ « the Herning. From trials at S ore . du nng the past two cnmm’o ™ h , erl Horning seed ' and other erola varieties of swedes were , -® n . Plots badly infested with club , has been, found that the Herning ln very high powers of resistance, ~ n on infested soil by comparison with er varieties. It is not entirely immune, but-can be relied upon to produce ~ alr crop of healthy plants even under ne worst soil conditions when other commercial varieties may fail. the Stratford demonstration areas tne Herning swede has given splendid returns and is now grow over a large area m Taranaki. It is understood that a. small quantity of seed has been secured lor experimental purposes in the Manawatu, where the results of this season’s trial will be watched with interest by local farmers. BARLEY FOR GREEN FEED. Another very useful forage crop which gives a heavy feeding for newly weaned lambs is cape barley. If sown towards tne 'end of the month on well-prepared ground it will be ready for the first light grazing in from three to four weeks. A few acres, according to the size of the flock, will carry a heavy stocking of lambs right through to the winter if fed off an breaks of suitable size. For fattening purposes the barley is not quite as good as. 'rape and a little of each is desirable if a large number of lambs are to be fattened quickly. For stud lambs and flock ewe hoggets it has been found that barley is a splendid green feed to wean the lambs on to, especially if there is a run off of fresh young grass. By this means they do not receive a check in growth and, the paddocks and pastures being clean and short, the lambs are always healthy and ill good shape when winter comes.

In. the late autumn a surface sowjsg of Italian rye or Western Wolths, lightly disced in, will provide good and sweet grazing right through to the following spring, when the field can be broken up and used for the same or another purpose. Black skinless harloy can be used, if preferred. A dressing of from 2cwt to 3cwt. of fertiliser will ensure a vigorous growth from either variety of barley. To get the best results care must be taken to keep the plants closely grazed, so as to prevent the crop running to seed. An interval of from a week to ten days between feeding off the breaks is- sufficient and then sometimes it is advisable to keep just a few older sheep in front of the lambs if there seems any, danger of the crop getting away to rapidly. In a farming journal Mr R. P. Connell makes reference to the value of forage crops as a means of supplying in concentrates to stock through the green material rather than’ by the agency of meals ’and other more expensive methods.

“The great importance of the special crops used in our Jystem of animal husbandry, says Mr Connell, “arises primarily form the fact that mo3t of these crops serve the function not of coarse fodders or roughages, but of concentrates. Concentrates essentially are low in. fibre and highly' digestible. The need for them arises specially when the remainder of the ration of which they form a part consists of woody fibre of poor digestibility, -and the 1 need-, for plenty of concentrates becomes specially pressing in the nutrition of animals of high production. "Crops such as green lucerne and green cereals before they are in’ bloom, turnips, and rape are essentially concentrates. They are diluted concentrates, it is true, but nevertheless concentrates by virtue of their composition and of the functions they can fulfil. To a considerable extent they take the place in our farming that concentrates out of a sack ; take in European and American farming in supplementing the coarse fodders or roughages. “All this may s&em a somewhat itrevelant digression if it is not kept in mind that the relatively expensive grains and meals freely used in other countries may -be' replaced.' in New' Zealand to . a great) extent- by the comparatively in-, expensive farm-grown “diluted concentrates” provided by such crops as soft turnips, rapq, etc. In reality our markedly economfical butterfat and fat-lamb production hinges on our cheap con-centrate-feed production through the agency of young grass, and suitable forage and root crops. This will indicate the importance of factors which limit the yields of such crops. Inadequate cultivation is such a factor. Farmers crop competitions have been of considerable instructional value in demonstrating in a concrete manner that money spent on good land, good manure, and good seed is at least partially wasted if not linked with good cultivation. The cultivation which precedes seed-sowing is of basic importance; if it is deficient nothing can be done later to remedy the t *“Thorough y preparatory . cultivation, however, while valuable, is far from sufficient. Intertillage, when practicable, should be carried out as soon as possible after seed-sowing with such yopsas mangels, potatoes, and carrots. All these and crops thrive on ample workin<r of the soil round the P ants, because such working not only kills weeds but Iho conserves the supply of soil-moisture and otherwise. increases the soil fertility.”-'

EGGS AND POULTRY.

WELLINGTON PRICES. (Bv Telegraph. —Special to “Standard. ) V WELLINGTON, Dec. 6. The egg demand is still keeping up and prices have remained stationary. First £rade eggs are quoted at Is 6d per dozen and second grade a penny lower. Ducks eggs arc selling at Is od. v n Poultry prices have not changed. Quotations are, ex cool store:. White Leghorns 7s 6d per pair, black Orpingtons 8s to 10s, ducklings 10s to 14s, chickens 9s to 15s. Dealers have not yet fixed prices for Christinas poultry.