THE TRIALS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 25 November 1938, Page 8

THE TRIALS

h i GRASS AND CLOVER STRAINS >f | I. RESULTS ON MOUTERE CLAY SOIL 8 >f | d n | The Department of Agriculture has e an extensive trial on Mr C. A. Newn 1 Port’s property, Braeburn. in which _ | various strains of grasses and clover are 0 being grown as a demonstration to the !f 1 farming community of the value of , sowing only the best seed, r | Accompanying this strains trial are _ plots which have been dressed with i various fertilisers at farmers’ rates of I application. These manurial sections are in duplicate in order that the true : effect of each dressing may be recordIt is customary for the Instructor in ! Agriculture to visit and report on both manurial and grass and clover trials several times during the year so that all phases of growth and response may „be noted, checked and recorded. VALUE OF SUCH TRIALS > | The value of such trials as these . | will be abundantly apparent. They i serve as a basis for the dissemination of information and practical I guidance to farmers of the most suitable pasture grasses and manures to use on that particular soil type. Grass and clover strains trials and . manuring trials of similar type to this are laid down by the Department of Agriculture on important soil types throughout the district and throughout New Zealand. A trial of the various clovers and grasses available on the open market and sown on the Moutere clay is of particular value because of the acknowledged difficulty of securing a highly productive and persistent pasture on this soil type. The various plots in the Moutere (rial present a checker board appearance at present. It follows that the pasture grasses and clovers which will thrive on the Moutere clay, will | succeed elsewhere on naturally more ; fertile soils. When shown over this trial by Mr j Merry, Instructor in Agriculture, a ' "Mail” representative was readily able ! to pick the differences in the various ! | plots. It was noted that each plot was I of sufficient size that one might gauge its merits against any other sowing. CLOVER STRAINS The first series of plots had been sown with white clover strains of various origin. All plots had received the same rate of seeding and the same manurial and subsequent treatment. One ton of carbonate of lime per acre had been applied to the field along with 3 super. As the plots were in their second year of growth they had all received ! their yearly application of 5 cwt. of j carbonate of lime and 3 cwt. of super. NEW ZEALAND CERTIFIED ON TOP Contrasted with imported English white clover the New Zealand Government certified white clovers were making far superior growth. Other lines of white clover included Dutch white, an Italian white clover, Polish white clover, a Kentish white, and ordinary commercial New Zealand white clover. One plot was set off as a trial of a pedigree line from the Plant Research Station, Palmerston North. The “Mail” reporter noted that whereas the Kentish and imported white I clover were flowering freely the certified and pedigree lines were more tardy in this respect. While the better clovers flower after the first year of sowing, their energy is more absorbed in the early stages of establishment in providing leafage rather than running tc flower and seed. When well established, certified white clovers flower too—but they have the added advantage (that 1 their main role is to provide herbage—this they do when ordinary uncertified white clovers are making negligible growth. It was apparent to the observer that whereas the Kentish and ordinary

I New Zealand white clovers were doing ; well on the trial plots the certified | mother seed white clover and the certiTied permanent pasture types were doing a great deal better. j CERTIFIED MOTHER SEED ; Mr Merry pointed out that certified ! mother seed was the highest seed grade | obtainable on the market and was most I suitable for growers who intended to enter th;j certified seed growers’ scheme whereas certified permanent pasture clovers and grasses were ideal for the man who wished to obtain good pasture but did not wish either to incur the additional expense for mother seed, or grow a seed crop. Inspection of the white clover plots revealed the folly of the farmer buying cheap lines of seed of which he has no guarantee of performance. RED CLOVERS ■ The “Mail” representative was then i shown plots in which red clovers were being tried out. Mr Merry stated that broad red clover, which is commonly called cowgrass by the farmer, is a short-lived type of red clover, of which i the greatest suitability is for short rotation pastures and especially for clover, or clover and Italian ryegrass hay. The Montgomeryshire red clover, however, was a pasture type suitable for grazing for many years. Owing to their low crown and dense mat of foliage Montgomeryshire red clover was most suitable for grazing purposes. Our representative was told that Montgomeryshire red clover Mas a deep rooting plant and it Mas able to withstand drought conditions very well and produce fodder when the shallower rooting clovers were suffering severe drought handicap. OUTSTANDING PLOTS The certified Montgomeryshire red e clover plots were outstanding and the f Government Instructor, Mr Merry, t stated that s I , more red clover of this type could 3 be sown in the Nelson district U'ith great material benefit. GRASSLAND TRIALS j The next phase of the Department’s 1 grassland trial inspected were plots in j which various strains of cocksfoot had J been sown. These comprised a certified Akaroa line, Plains cocksfoot, a Plant j Research Station selection under trial, l and imported Danish cocksfoot. Un--1 I happily for the imported Danish cocks- | foot was well outclassed by its New i Zealand competitors. The best plot ! amongst the cocksfoots was the certi- . ‘ fl ed Akaroa—again a triumph for New ! Zealand Government certified seed. I Next to be inspected were the perennial J ryegrass plots. Similarly with other sec- | j tions of the trial certified ryegrass, both %

YOUNG FARMERS’ CLUBS BOOM An increase in membership of more than 200 was reported by the secretary, Mr G. S. Robinson, at a meeting of the Manawalu district j executive of the New Zealand Fcd- | cration of Young Farmers’ Clubs. | At the beginning of the 1938-39 season membership in the Manawatu i Mas approximately 500, representing j 17 clubs; the number of clubs had I increased to 21 and the total membership Mas more than 700.

| mother seed and permanent pasture j class, were being tried out alongside | lines o- commercial origin, and one a i Plant Research Station selection. Here again the marked superiority of certified ryegrass was apparent. So marked were the differences in persistency of \ai ious lines that little or no ryegrass ' was to be found where uncertified seed 1 had been sown, whereas the better ] seed which had carried the Govern- . ment’s certification tag had formed a | dense even mat of ryegrass. i Again it Mas apparent that it pays { handsomely to sow only the best. ( Sowing good, persistent and high pro- F during grasses may mark the turning ( point between failure in farming and t making it a brilliant, paying success, f j 1 GRASS MIXTURE , t J The next group of plots to be inspect- t j cd were those in which certified strains t cf pasture grasses and clovers had been r sown, contrasted with uncertified mix- 1 turcs, or mixtures having one or other t of the component species uncertified, Gur representative was shown the cf- F I fect of sowing Italian ryegrass in the s pasture seeds mixture and no perennial ryegrass. After the Italian rye- t grass, Which is an annual, had produced i its bulk of fodder, the pasture in the 1 second and subsequent years was left open and in poor condition, whereas with perennial ryegrass and no Italian ryegrass the reverse was the result— p while slower to establish in less pro- 3 ductive in the first year the perennial .1 ryegrass sowing eventually made the e best sward. n In the next scries of plots certified perennial ryegrass had been sown at 40Ibs per acre along with certified white clover at 31bs per acre. This sowing was contrasted with 401bs of I certified ryegrass sown with 31bs of imported white clover. The comp.rison betMeen the two pastures quite clearly demonstrated why the Department of Agriculture advocates sowing certified white clover Mith certified ryegrass. The pasture Mith , certified clover and ryegrass Mas in- p finitely superior to the good ryegrass / Mith the poor clover.

Mr Merry stated that white clover al >r:g with other leguminous plants enriches he soil by its additions of nitrogen formed in the nodules on the roots of all plants of the legume family. With a strong growing clover of the certified typo nitrogen additions to the so l tremendously enhanced the growth of the ryegrass. The result was a strong ryegrass and white clover pasture which would stand close and abundant grazing. This pasture would repay handsomely for topdressing with lime a phosphate.

On the other hand, if the farmer neglected to sow a strong growing ryegrass with a certified white clover he lay his pasture prone to clover dominance owing to the less aggressiveness of the ryegrass. Such a clover dominant pasture had well known disadvantages

The pasture obtained from the sowing of 401bs certified ryegrass and 31bs certified white clover was excellent. The next series were sown with certified

• ryegrass 251bs, certified Akaroa cocks- ■ foot 151bs. certified Mont, red clover 4lbs - and certified white clover 31bs per acre, t This pasture mixture produced an ex- - cellent sward. When compared with r the same mixture composed of ordinary - uncertified commercial lines the mark- . ed superiority of the pasture sown with certified seed was outstanding, j It was pointed out that a mixed , pasture of this nature having sev- . eral deep rooting components, notably cocksfoot, and Montgomery red clover, would provide a well balanced and even growth of fodder at times when a simpler pasture j mixture of ryegrass and white clover alone might be prone to dry out on this soil type. Our representative was greatly impressed with what can be done with 1 proven seed in suitable mixtures. There 1 was no need for further mention that certified seed is always best. From time to time the Department of Agriculture held field days on this and other experimental plots. That these should j be well attended goes without saying. MANURIAL TREATMENT • The art of growing good pasture lies -in sowing good seed —therefore, good , management is imperative. The farmer • is guided to the correct manuring of , his pasture, an essential phase in man- . agement. by trials of variously dressed manurial plots laid down alone and in combination with such grass and clover strains trials as we inspected on Mr C. A Newport's property at Braeburn. Attached to the grass and clover trial there is an area pegged off in plots which have received the following fertilisers: Nauru phosphate, ammoniated super, super, basic slag and potash. The phosphatic fertilisers are tried alone and in combination with potash. All fertilisers are tried with the addition of carbonate of lime. As described in a previous review of the Department's manurial trial schedule, each block of plots is duplicated in order to eliminate soil fertility differences .and lead the observer to valid conclusions concerning the most suitable manurial programme. On laying down a trial the phosphates are dressed at 3cwt per acre, potash at 2 cwt per acre and the limed sections receive carbonate of lime (ground limestone* at 1 ton per acre. Every year the trial is in operation (a normal period to observe results or no results is three to four years) the plots receive a per acre dressing equivalent to the original, except that the lime application is reduced to scwt per acre. This is in line with what is possible by the farmer I himself. MARKED DIFFERENCE IN THE ! PLOTS The manurial trial on Mr Newport’s property at Braeburn has been down now nearly two years. There is a , marked difference on the plots which! have received dressings of lime and ! superphosphate; indeed, the response j here is outstanding. Lime and super j may be confidently recommended for j general use on soils of the Moutere clay ; type. Lime is a necessity both for sue- j cessful pasture establishment * and j pasture maintenance. No other fertiliser on this trial viewed by our represen- 1 tative showed such apparent effective- ' nes's as lime and super. Of interest.; however, was the addition of potash. I ■ Alone, the potash-dressed plot was no 1 better than areas where no lime or for-!' tiliser had been dressed. At the time of 1 the visit the plot with the complete j manurial dressing, super, carbonate of i lime, and potash was clothed with!' the best sward. However. Mr Merry j : said it was doubtful whether the addi- N tion of potash would be a payable pro- j position, but most certainly lime and i i super would well repay their cost. ]<■ The Department of Agriculture is to be congratulated cm this work, which I! is obviously of great value to the farm- j * ing community of Nelson. i TRIAL AT BRIGHTWATER < The other manuring trial at Mr F. < Page's, Brightwater, sown with super 3cwt, New Zealand-manufactured slag 3cwt, imported basic slag 3cvvt and each of above plus carb. lime lewt, may be mentioned.

Plots of this are in duplicate and the response there is definite and markedly shown at present to basic slag (imported).