GRASS SEED MIXTURES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18461, 26 July 1923, Page 10

GRASS SEED MIXTURES.

: v ; "<?»■ —rr-r - . RtiTATJCN OR PERMANENCY. jf-V" ; ; i VARIETIES : RECOMMENDED. .»> ;" ' ifv-'-i '*/ / - i.,y;. •'* " . PASTURES FOR DAIRYING. , No. 11. : /Varieties of grasses suitable for dairying pastures where permanency or a short rotation was aimed at was the subject of l a recent lecture at Ruakur-a by Mr. E. ; Bruce Levy, of the Department of 'Agriculture, Wellington. The Hollowing permanent pasture mixtures were recommended by the - ; lecturers - Good average first-class : soils - (1) Perennial ryegrass 151b., cocksfoot 101b., crested - dogstail 31b.,, timothy : 31b., ' Italian rye 41b., red clover 31b., white 'clover . 21b., lotus, major lib. total. 47.1b. per aero. (2), For the establishment of paspalum, peren-1 t> nial rye 151b., cocksfoot 61b., Italian rye 81b., paspalum 61b., red clover- 31b., white clover. 21b., subterranean clover liblotus major lib.; total, 421b. per acre Special prairie grass pastures were not particularly recommended, and especially not for the young man just starting out. Such a' mixture was perennial rye bib., prairie grass ,601b.. Italian rye 61b., red clover 4.; total fab. per acre. Tor short rotation . pastures, two to v- four years, mixtures • were: General . grazing . type . — perennial ryegrass 201b„ Italian rje 81b., rid ? dover 61b.; total, 341b. per acre. Grazing and hay type—Perennial rye 151b., cocksfoot 61b.» timothy 41b., Italian rve 81b.,' red clover 41b., alsike 21b. ; total, i 391b. per - acre. < There . was no doubt that ' virtually in ail cases the short rotation pastures were productive of more feed than the truly permanent pastures, but they involved more worn. Where .a dairy farmer had but a small place that he could comfortably get over with the plough every four years he should nut " consider any pasture other than, the temporary; or short rotation pasture, but lust-so soon as the farm was too big -0 tret- over every four years with the plough, then a certain amount must necessarily be put down in permanent pasture, ltie permanent pasture really belong to tne well-established : man whe .could afford to si-rend ■ more and to wait longer for a re- . turn. In such , cases, invested money brought its return, but m the case of"'" the r youngerj- settler where money was lacking he had u> spend less and . rely • more on hard work. , Thus he should adopt the shortrotation pastures for some years at least until he was well established: Clovers and Paspalura. • Special' paspalum paddocks should +bo established on every , dairy farm in the Auckland district, said Mr. Levy, wherever the paspalum when sown be-I came very aggressive and spread over the, other pastures, V.his should be looked, upon j as a certain indication that paspalum. should be- ,used more and .more on - those | " farms.' Paspalum farming was coming to ; be regarded.as a fine art-, and there was j little doubt that many of its disabilities ; *:•. , could be largely overcome by the possibili- 1 ' ...ties of combining it with certain clovers i • and -by a long rotational system of farm- ( ■ ing these areas. Subterranean clover was. an ideal companion plant for paspalum on areas that were ' being grazed, - and Lotus ' hispidus oh areas . that were being hayed. Lotus major and ."white clover also com- . bined extremely well with grazed paspalum swards. • •* A mixture for rich, wet, low-lying areas and alluvial river deposits was: Perennial J rye./121b..; cocksfoot, 101b.; timothy, 41b. ; <■ Italian rye. 41b. : ; meadow foxtail, 41b.; I Poa trivialis, 21b. ; red. clover, 21b.: alsike, I 21b.; white clover, 21b.; total. 421b. per aero. It would be noticed in this mixture that the meadow foxtail and Poa trivialis did not figure very largely in the mixture; yet without doubt tlbesQ. two species on this type of country were the best possible' grasses that -could be used in the permanent pasture. There were two good ; reasons why an ; attempt; was not made to > get *a. pure pasture ,of meadow foxtail and Poa: trivialis right from the offset. Both species were slow to establish, and < the seed , of both species was expensive. When these species were once established, how- ,. ■■; ever,' so suitable were they to these fertile " wet soils that they became very aggressive. ' Finally," they would dominate the soil, ; but the associate species would .; i! function extremely well until such time as . they were, replaced by the • better and " more suitable meadow foxtail and Poa . trivialis.< . " -i-, i' "An alternative mixture 1. to . the above, ■ and' narticidarlv ;. for: pastures of,shorter duration, sav for six to ieieht years, on . : these soils w*s as follows: Perennial rye, 151b.: _ cocksfoot. 101b.; * timothy, 61b.; • Italian rve. 41b.: red -clover. 41b.: alsike, 21b. ; white clover, 21b.; total, 421b. per * core. For short rotation pastures (two to four years' ; duration!, the ' Wowing mixture was recommended:—Perennial rve, 81b.; ; Italian rye,' Iff'b,: ; timothy, 81b.; red clover. , 61b.; . white clover, 21b.; total, 391b. per. acre.'•" ' Late Autumn Sowings. . For_ rather late autumn, sowings, the following mixture was recommended: — "Perennial rye,. 101b.; Italian rye, 201b.; { red clover, 41b.; slsike, 21b.; white clover. • 21b.; total, 381b. • per acre. Mr. Levy said dairy pastures on consolidated peat swamp land,could- by very careful management, l : (he brought- up : to the perennial rye, cocks- \ foot, 'timothy;' dominant group, but under I? ordinary 1 conditions of management 'it ; would be better to regard them as belonging to the cocksfoot, perennial rye, crested -v dogstail, timothy, group. Cocksfoot and not perennial ryegrass u would he<' the dominant constituent. "" t Permanent pasture mixtures for •ma-1 tnrely-consSJidated swamps were as follow:—Cocksfoot, 151b.; crested dogs-1 tail, 31b;: timothy, l 3!b.; perennial rye, i ; 101b.; Italian rvft. 61b.; red clover, 31b. ; white clover.' 21b.,.: Lotus V major,;,' 21b.; , , total, 441b. per acife. Paspalum was recom-. mended on these soils, and the following i i • mixture should be sown:—Cocksfoot, 81b • i crested dogstail. 21b.;i' perennial, rye,. 101b! * : Italian ! rye, 61b.: pasDalnm, 41b.'; red clover, fib. ;, white clover, lib.; Lotus major, lib,; subterranean clover, lib. • total, 351b. - per - acre. ' For. short rotPition pastures (two to three years' deration) on ' these soils,'.perennial rye. -251b.; red clover ~ , results whita clover, 21b. ( gave' - good ! In the mixtures as; set out it would "bo noted that the purely temporary elements were comparatively small as far as the permanent pastures were concerned. There - ■ftas no doubt that too much purely tern-1 . porarySelement 'in the permanent pasture! sowing was detrimental to the successful i establishment <of the permanent elements i and, as - the quality ,of the land ' became : poorer, so had the proportion of temp err-1 ary elements to be more and. more reduced and that of the permanent elements 'a- j creased. In good land plants could alwavs tiller out and occupy any bared soil left' by the running out of temporary elements. ■ I here was, also, much reseeding. but with - poorer soils tha permanent elements of the • cocksfoot, crested dogstail type did not tiller out rapidly, and consequently ' bar© ' spaces appeared in the pasture on the running out of the temporary elements. These - bare .spade? . soon became occupied by weeds.. In all pasture work this fact had to be recognised— farmers did not sow suitable species the unsuitable species . would soon "run out" and th-sir place would be-1 romp -occupied by weeds. The weed sue-' cession in New Zealand pastures was not' so much due to invasion against a resis-! ..tance offered by . the : occupier of the soil but rather; an occupation by the weed of . land that /'had _ been ;bared through the unsuitable species.- "running out." it . ' certain cases, however, -there was distinct aggression :in the part of tho weeds that inhabited the pastures, . .r V > With rflgard to cover 1 crops, or '"ntirse" crops, silch as cereals or 1 - rape, these: should noli be sown' along with truly psr-j

i: inanent pastures, but in short rotation pasj, ture work, in ,general j these ' might profiti ably be used. \ • Y : ln pasture establishment tho Quality of j the seed sown. was",- extremely ?* important, said Mr.; Levy. There "should bo one quality sown,.the best. -It could he laid clown as an axiom : that; '"cheap" seeds were always expensive. • Thero wore threo. mam considerations in the buying of see^?-— mination of the seed purity of the seed its -place of origin. High germination merit high vitality j high vitality meant success■ in ; th©- competition that would follow in the pasture.■ The purity of the seed was not so important, and just so long as machine-dressed seeds were used there was little danger of applying an undue proportion of harmful weed seeds. There were cue or two noteworthy exceptions—Southern crested dogstail, and imported alsike wore likely to contain Californian thistle. Auckland grown "Lotus i major was likely to contain dodder _ana Lotus hispidus. It would appear from numerous analyses made m the seed-test ing laboratory ia Wellington that just so long as the fanner was prepared to use I only machine-dressed seeds and _to pay tho toHm market rate the question of the purity of the seeds need scarcely causo him anv worry; but just so soon as ho strove to strike a bargain then should ms movements be very cautious. • There were many . important ■ considerations to be given to the origin of the seed that was sown. This was illustrated mj regard to white clover. Undoubtedly none other than New Zealand grown seed, of this clover should be used. ho superiority of the -New Zealand seed over, the cow, mcrcial imported article was beyond question. Trials at the Welsh plant-breeding station, University College, of Wales, went to show that New Zealand white clover i was in very many important respects similar to the wild white clover of England.