STOCK FEEDING CROPS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19417, 27 August 1926, Page 16

STOCK FEEDING CROPS.

BREAKING UP GRASS LAND. BENEFIT OF DEEP PLOUGHING. SOILS AND TREATMENT. * BYW.S. Lea land intended for mangolds, kale, turnips, rape, etc., if not already br6li'en up should be skim-plouglxed, or deepploughed, as the case may be; This should be done as soon as possible, as the season is . getting well advanced, and the sooner this work is done the better chance there will be for a successful crop. There is no hard-and-fast rule laid down for the cultivation of lea land, as conditions vary so widely. The system of cultivation varies with the nature of the soil, the climate, and locality. But it is safe to say that the final ploughing should be' completed as soon as circumstances permit and that the ploughing for the above crops should be as deep as conditions will allow and the 'after-culti-vation correspondingly deep. . If the ploughing, for unforeseen reasons cannot be finished within a reasonable time, it may not be wise to plough excessively deep, for fear of the land drying out in the spring. When the soil is of a sandy nature and free, a less amount of ploughing and harrowing* cultivation is necessary than on stiff soils. If crops of the above decription are to be sown on stiff, clay soils careful cultivation is necessary to ensure a good germination and a good growth throughout the plant's growing season. Land of this description should be skimmed in autumn or early winter, then after the weather ha 3 had time to exert its influence on the skimmed, furrow, this should be well broken up and deep ploughed. This deep ploughing j should should, if possible, be done before the frosts have ceased. Early and deep ploughing will have a beneficial effect on the soil, rendering it more friable, and a good seed bed will be easily procured besides improving the texture of the soil. Moreover, the land, will be more retentive of moisture in the under layers of the furrow, when the ploughing is done in early season, a very important consideration, especially on land that is inclined to dry out in late spring and early summer. Cultivation of Mangolds. The mangold crop is as a rule impatient of light soils, and generally speaking should only be grown on the better classes of soils. But in many instances a farmer, desirous of growing a plot of mangolds, may not have suitable land from this point of view, but neverthless it is astonishing how this crop will thrive, even on medium land, providing the proper cultivation is given, together with liberal manuring, without which such land would be entirely useless for such a crop. When mangolds follow lea (their favour- > ite position), if skim ploughing is practised, the first or skim furrow should be only of sufficient depth to allow ot enough soil to cover the turf, so as to set up decomposition, and also to allow the cultivator to thoroughly work this skimmed furrow, which should always be properly pulverised before being turned under in the 'act of deep ploughing. 1^ 1S , decomposed matter will serve as valuable plant food for the young plants. IV however, a double ploughing is not pos- ; sible the land should be ploughed ..six, or seven inches, according to_ the depth and nature of the land. _ This will give the turned down turf time to get fairly well rotted before the final working in spring, and previous to sowing the seed. Rolling Deeply-Ploughed Land. When the lea is ploughed deep straight out of grass, and when commencing to cultivate the land, it is good, practice to first run the heavy Cambridge roller . over the bare furrows. This packs the furrows, helps to level the surface, as well as helping in the pulverisation of the soil; moreover, it allows the discs or; other implements to do better work. In many instances, land so treated has grown better crops than the same class ot land twice ploughed. This usually happens, however, when tha second ploughing is done too late in the spring, especially'if it happens to be a dry one. Deep stirring of the soil late in the season is inducive to excessive evaporation. In such cases, the young plants suffer from moisture starvation before the roots roach the moisture below. With this in view, if it is not possible to have the second ploughing completed before late winter rains are expected to fall (and not forgetting the beneficial effects of the frosts), it would be better practice to plough the land straight away, and to content ourselves by giving the furrows a deep and thorough' working with the discs, cultivator, and other pulverising implements. By this means the surface will be made mellow, and in a highly-suitable <state to receive the seed, while the under layer of the furrow will retain sufficient moisture to ensure a good germination and a good growth afterwards. Crops On One Furrow. Excellent mangolds and turnips and other root crops have been grown on the one furrow, provided the land has been ploughed early enough. Generally speaking, however, twice ploughing gives best results, that is, if the second ploughing is done early in the season,, because the soil and because the bacterial mould is indepth of the furrow. This is very important to the farmer because it means that the plant food already in tho soil is more evenly distributed through thesoil, because the bacterial mould, is. increased; and tho result is a better growth of plants. On the other hand, in ad-versely-cultivated land the soil bacteria is only found in abundance near the surface, while, if land is deeply .and frequently cultivated, the air and warmth penetrate to a greater depth; thus, besides benefiting the root system, it also influences the bacterial process. When land is deeply and thoroughly cultivated the bacteria multiplies very rapidly, and is found in much greater, numbers and in a correspondingly: greater depth. > ' ■ . ' ' Tho physical conditions or . properties or the soil, as regards texture, moisture, etc., are of the foremost importance. ton-. veirsely, a soil may be fertile as far as its composition is concerned, but from excessive dryness or excessive wetness, from closeness of texture, etc., it may refuse to grow good crops. The amount 01 soluble and undissolved plant food naturalily in a soil is what is termed the "inherent fertility" of it, and a farmer pays rent or interest for liberty to remove it in small, annual portions m the crops, and stock he sells off his farm. By adopting a thorough system of cultivation, and by adding manures the replenishes this store, and, if he manures heavily, he increases the stock of fertility and adds to the cumulative fertility ol the soil and puts it into good condition.