Money in Seeds

Manawatu Times, Volume LVI, Issue 7107, 16 March 1933, Page 6

Money in Seeds

STARTING A NEW INDUSTRY IN MANAWATU. VAST POSSIBILITIES AHEAD OF FARMERS. No less a sum than £30,000 is sent out of New Zealand annually in the purchase of swede and turnip seeds. Why should that bo so when the Dominion is capable of producing not only all its own requirements in that direction, but could also work up an exceedingly xc-numo-rative export trado in the seed? The difficulty in the past has been the presence of two diseases —dry rot and club-root —which have ravaged the crops from one end of New Zealand to the other and rendered the growing of swedes a precarious business. Thanks, however, to the activities of officers of the Plant Research Station, these obstacles in tho path of disease-free seed production, have been almost completely removed with the result that tho door is now wido open for tho establishment of a now rural industry of great jiotcnial value. The Department of Agriculture, realising the possibilities of seed growing is taking the initial steps to introduce the industry to the farming community. It is realised that seed growing, because of its high por-acro value, large family labour requirements and low cost in equipment, is eminently suitable, for tho type of close settlement contemplated by the Small Farms plan and a start is to bo made during tho coming season with swedes. Three 30-acre holdings have been chosen in the vicinity of Palmerston North, representing different classes of land, isolated from other crops and within easy reach of the Plant Research Station whose inycological officers will give the crops the necessary supervision and the growers the required instructions. Three acres of each holding will bo devoted to tho sweed seed crop. The seedling plants will be grown on tho Plant Research area from dry-rot free mother seed selected and bred at tho Station. These seedlings will bo distributed to tho growers for planting out in June or July and the seed crops will be harvested in the following January or February. Judging by the results obtained at tho Station over the last three seasons, thero should bo made available about five tons of seed, which will be taken over by the Department for disposal to the trade, tho proceeds, less expenses, going to the grower. What are the returns to the grower likely to be? Tho crop of dressed seed should exceed lOcwt. per aero (in one experiment nearly' 12cwt. was harvested from about f acre) which, at Is per lb, represents a gross return of £5(5 per acre. Equipment costs aro low, the main expenditure being in labour. For that Tca-son the industry is particularly adapted to small holdings where family labour can bo fully utilised. It is estimated that an avorage family, whore tho crop is tho main source of revenue, handle efficiently three acres of seeding swedes thus providing a cash return of about £l5O. That compares very favourably' with the returns possible from any other source and if the infant industry' is carefully controlled from its inception, under expert official supervision, there seems every likelihood that it will r.ot only save New Zealand the £30,000 now spent abroad for these seeds but also that it will grow into a flourishing source of export. Of greater significance, however, is the opportunity it offers to reduce and perhaps iai time eliminate, the enormous annual economic loss caused by secd-horne plant diseases in this country.