ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18678, 7 April 1924, Page 13

ON THE LAND.

'RAISING OAT CROPS,

£ HINTS FOR early LOWING. |'v" SELECTION OP SEED. !' HOW TO PREVENT SMUT. BY W.S. Large areas of the main oat crop T*ill 'be sown during the coming month. The past season has been, on the whole, unsatisfactory, many of tie oat. crops having given very poor yields. In fact, a large' proportion of farmers, instead of having surplus oats for sale, will find it, difficult, and in many instances impossible to keep Itheir stock sufficiently fed with the stuff grown on their own farms. This will mean that they will have to purchase, instead of having plenty of their own growing. Farmers in the latter position especially would endeavour to get a portion of their oats sown tit the earliest possible moment. Oats that are already sown, as well as those sown within the next ■week or so, will under favourable Conditions be ready to reap towards the end of the present year. A portion can be reaped, on the green side if necessary and turned into chaff, as soon as it has had sufficient seasoning. Where conditions »re unfavourable to sowing the main crop just at present", a small area should be put in to come in early in case of a Shortage towards the end of the year. Selecting Healthy Seed.

Before commencing to drill oats, the farmer should make sura that his seed bats are free from smut. Though smut in oats is often looked upon by many as » mere trifle, and little notice is taken of it, yet this fungi causes serious deficiency in the yield of this and other cereal crops. The trouble may be caused through sowing from the same stock for a number of seasons without a change or ■when getting a change of seed the previous (crop may have been badly affected and as the fungi multiplies very rapidly under favourable conditions, it gets worse each season, until it enormously affects the yield. Or again the crop may have been grown in the near vicinity of a of a badly infected crop, in which case the smut spores will be transmitted to the growing crop, and though iv, will not show. itself in that crop will come out in the next. Hence the necessity for seed grown from a healthy crop fend free from smut. Destructive Fungi. The smut spores become ripe soon after the oats oome out into ear, and are blown about through the field by the winds. Many of the smut spores cling to other heads and kernels. When the seed is sown the next year the fungus grows up between the young seedlings. At flowering time the smut becomes very active and the heads develop into a mass of smut, pores, res ambling so much soot. These being extremely light, are easily borne away by the wind and in this way other crops in the near vicinity are infected. Many may not know that smut in grain is caused by a parasitic gland growing through the tissues of the green plant. It usually appears in a dark powdery mass of spores and usually destroys the "whole plant. Smut is produced from smut spores as. other plants are produced from seeds. The trouble too frequently appears in oar crops, and is as frequently let go from season to season without anv effort being made to .check its spread. On certain classes of fend and in certain seasons the trouble is worse than in (others. In any case, however, whenever femut is present it greatly reduces the yield. Moreover, badly smutted oats are unhealthy food for stock.

Methods of Treatment.

Many kinds of mixtures have been tried "for stinking smut in wheat and loose smut in oats, but to all appearance -without any very marked success. Some treatments no doubt help considerably to check the spread of the fungi, but from experience the most of these forms of treatment have not proved entirely satisfactory, though they ire said to be so. For instance, a solution made of one pint, of formaldehyde (formalin) fcdded to 42 gallons of water is claimed to be effective in treating loose smut in 'Cats. So also is sulphate of copper (bluestone) mixed at the proportion of lib. of bluestone to four gallons of water, put into a trough or tub, when the bags are halved and immersed in the solution, as the solution may be made a little stronger and poured over the gram on the granary floor and mixed until all the grain is damp, when it is bagged up and allowed to stand until it is sufficiently dry to drill. When the latter method is practised 2oz. of bluestone to each bushel of grain should Tie used. _ ■ The latter treatment is fairly effective hi the treatment of stinking smut in wheat, but not so effective with oats, as it will, not destroy all the smut spores. ,T!ie reason for this is '-hat the spores are located inside the outer shell or husk, at the tail end or furry end of the oat, therefore unless the oats are a very plump, sample and have been dressed very severely, the liquid cannot reach the smut spores, and so they arc left unharmed to play havoc with the next season's crop. A point against the use of bluestone is that its application checks germination, many of the weaker grain being-killed outright and others seriously weakened. On the other band, grain treated with formalin, though perhaps not quite so effective as bluestone for the prevention of smut, will encourage a more rapid germination and the plants will set up a more vigorous growth- TbQ Best Treatment.

The most effective method for the prevention of smut and at the same time the moat beneficial to the growth of the oat crop that the writer has tried, is to treat the oats in hot water. By this method the whole of the smut spores are destroyed by the heat of the ho water, while the embryo of the seed is left unharmed, but on the contrary is much improved by the treatment. In© result is a rapid germination followed by a good healthy growth. mere there arc large quantities of oats to be treated, a good plan , and the one the writer adopts, is to get a 400 gallon tank and oat in half, place each half tank on four oil-drums filled with water to prevent buckling. The half-tanks are . placed tide by side and partly filled with water, when a fire is put under them sind the water brought to the required temperature, which is 132 deg. F. The object of having two vessels is that while one .is being used the other _ being heated, so much time will be save . A steady heat between 102 deg, and 1.55 deg. Fahrenheit should be maintained while the oats are being steeped, which should range from 7 to 12 minuses, according to the variety, the time allowed being less for thin-skinned oa than for thicker-skinned ones. , Seven t nine minutes is sufficient * or *' skinned varieties, such as Duns, - nadian, etc., while the thick-skinned and more robust oats, such as Gartons, Danish, etc., will be Better with from 10 to 12 minutes.