PASTURE TREATMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19762, 8 October 1927, Page 19

PASTURE TREATMENT.

DRAINING AND LIMING. SEVERAL VITAL FACTORS. " Perhaps the two outstanding features in the local dairy districts of late years have been the striking growth in the herd-testing movement and the phenomenal increase in the amount- of phosphatic .fertilisers used on grass lands," stated Mr. G. W. Wild, agricultural instructor, in a lecture at Te Awamutu lately. Dairyfarmers soon became coft* vinced that phosphates and successful dairyfarming were synonymous terms, he said, and furthermore, that herd-testing must go hand in hand with better feeding. The " cull " cow was doomed and was being drummed, without ceremony, from the ranks of dairy herds. Yet a true value of a cow's worth was hardly possible, unless her full needs in the way of palatable foods were supplied. Hence the "cull,"' pasture must go also, if the per-acrei production was to increase to 2001b. of butter-fat and beyond. This figure had already been reached by quite a few dairy farms, and the 3001b. mark was in sight to a small band of enthusiasts. , Although top-dress>ing with phosphatit) manures was so necessary a factor of success, it often dwarfed into insignificance those other necessary factors in pasture management and control. The past winter had been an exceptionally wet one, and many fields were badly waterlogged and unfit for grazing. Land in such a condition was not fit for winter grazing, and, furthermore, its production in the spring was seriously retarded by the bleakness of the underlying soil, its crop of water-loving weeds and its tendency to bake hard at the first appearance of drought conditions. Drainage was a vital factor on soils with a heavy subsoil and on those subject to periodical water-logging. For such grass land, surface drainage was essential, and the recent improvement in the design of "mole" ploughs, placed an effective instrument at the disposal of the grass land farmer. Grasses fed mainly in the top layers of soil, so that effective moles at a depth of 15in. to IBin. brought about a complete amelioration of this top storehouse of plant food. The deep system of tile drainage was not necessary on such grass fields. Its place was in cropping land, as crops were deep-rooted and needed the water level down some 3ft. to 4ft. A special cropping field should, therefore, always have some deep system of tile or brush drains if the best results were looked for. Following the removal of excess water, a heavy application of ground limestone was necessary, to sweeten the soil and unlock reserves of plant food. It also made conditions more suitable for bacterial growth and action in the soil. Lime could not be looked upon as a plant food, yet it made the wealth of humus more available, and brought into use the dormant phosphates, nitrates and potash reserves locked up in the soil. Lime gave its greatest response on land that had accumulated such reserves, hence where applications of phosphates and other fertilisers had been made, a dressing of carbonate of lime every 5 or 6 years would make available the insoluble residues. On Mr. J. Sutherland's farm, at Kihikihi, this had been made very evident. An -application of 2 tons of ground limestone had resulted in an increase of some 20001b. of green material, and this in the short space of 3 months