EXPERIMENTS ON MOUTERE HILLS SOIL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 23 December 1922, Page 5

EXPERIMENTS ON MOUTERE HILLS SOIL

STRIKING RESULTS MY CAWTHHOX INSTITUTE Much interest is being expressed concerning the experiments conducted by tlie Cawtiiron Institute on .Messrs Disley Bros.' property at Mildura. The experiments are a continuation of the cover crop experiments which were carried out during the winter. The cover crop experiments included plots of lupins, horse beans', and tares with oats. The object -of the experiments, was to ascertain how the crops could bo successfully grown, and also their relative merits for use in orchards on the Mouterc Hills. The cover crop experiments demonstrated that the use of 2 Inns of ground limestone and 5 ewt. .superphosphates per acre was essential as an initial treatment of the land in securing the best results with horse beans and Scotch tares. In the case of lupins it was found that lime was not so essential but the use of a piiosphatii; manure such as superphosphate was necessary in order to obtain a satisfactory growth. The need for' sot! inoculation for both horse beans and tares was (dearly proved ; but in the ease of blue lupins it, did not appear so necessary. One interesting fefituro of the winter experiment's was the good results obtained with horse beans and'tares with .oats. Both of these crops gave much higher crop yields than was H)e case with bine lupins. From this pet it might Expected ' that both.'tare and horse bean cover crops would possess ,a higher mannrial value than The lupin crop. One of the experiments which is now in progress has been designed to test the mannrial value of (he cover crops grown in the autumn. For this purpose oats have been chosen as the lest crop. The cove" crops were ploughed in towards the'end of July and the oats were sown at the beginning of September. rile oats have made' exec!lent growth over , all the plot where good cover crops have been turned in. hut • /ii the unlreali'lt pi Us where the cover ciops were poor the oats are correspondingly bad. The oats from small measured areas on the various plots .have been cut and weighed. The crop weights show that ihe tares cover crop has re.iulted in the highest increase in j the oat,sx Horse beans have given the ihiexl best results and lupins him? given j.llie Idwest increase in the yield of oats, iln file ease of the plot where lares. | treated with 2 tons of ground limestone ! and 5 ewt. s of superphosphate were ploughed in, the oat crop is four times greater than that obtained from no treated hind.

Another experiment which will be oi great interest to farmers on M.iiilere Hills soil is connected with Hit? growing of fodder crops. A field of 19 acres lias been set aside for tins purpose, and a sfart Inis been made by conducting experiments on a. large scale with lares and oats which were found In do so well with proper treatment m lie' while! ever crop trials Aiihemrn spring ro’.ving« of,t;ires with oats do not give such good results as autumn sowings, very good growth has been obtained on seme of ’(he plots. The following table shows the green weights ol Hie crop cut Irma plots treated in different ways: Plot No. 1, treatment, untreated ■ green produce per acre 3c wt. «-j No. 2. 5 ewt. Nauru Roc): phosphate; 12 ewt.

No. 3, 41, cwt. basiV slag, 60 cwt. No. 4, 45 cwt. blond and bone mixture, 50 cwt. t No. 5, 4!, cwt. superphosphate and 6 tons ground limestone 120 cwt. The results of the experiments show dearly the impossibility °i growing crops on .Moutore soil proper treatment ot the land is inuieiaaken. The crop obtained by tn-aiin.' toe i.ra ! with 2 lons of ground limestone and ;> ewl. superphosphate is astonishingly good, i'be initial cost of treatment of Inc land is high, but it. must bp lomenibered that the lime will exert an ho fiuenee mi the soil for a, period ot b years. It is anticipated th.it, tor Inc next three or four years, laud v. nieli has had the initial treatment will grow frond leeuminoiis cron. 1 -' with Ihe annual application of 2i cwt. superphosphate per acre. Messrs liislcv Bros have kindly con seated to throw the experimental fields open for public inspection during Urn next fortnight. On Saturday. Dec. 01. Mr Bigg of the Cawtliron Institute will bo present during the whole of the afternoon in order to explain the details of the experiments and (he results which have been obtained. Ihe Director of the Cawtliron Institute extends a heartv invitation to orehardists and farmers and poisons mtereated n. t] u? treatment of Mont pro Hills soil to be present on this occasion.