SEED CERTIFICATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20744, 11 December 1930, Page 25

SEED CERTIFICATION.

ADVANTAGE OF SYSTEM. GREAT POSSIBILITIES AHEAD. BY NITROS. Seed certification work, carried out by tiio Plant Research Station, is expanding rapidly. In exactly the same way as increased and improved utilisation of fertilisers has built up our pastures, so will seed certification prove the basis of better grasslands in the future. Given the solid basis of a first-class perennial ryegrass pasture (or cocksfoot, or other grass according to the class of country), and proper top-dressing on a liberal scale, there is no saying, but that we can still further improve the total output from our grasslands. The immediate effect of ryegrass certification has been to increase the price to such an extent as to put it temporarily out of reach of the average farmer, but it is stated that 5000 acres of perennial ryegrass are being grown in Hawke's Pay alone this season, and this greatly-increased production of the certified article is bound to have its effect upon prices. Gradually certified ryegrass will come down to a level approximating that of ordinary ryegrass at the present time. Great Season's Work.

Considering "that last season was the first during which ryegrass certification was undertaken, it speaks volumes for our farmers that there should already bo such a widespread demand for certified seed, and such general knowledge of its advantages. Readers will remember that investigation showed that Poverty Bay and Hawke's Bay ryegrass was superior to that from southern districts on the whole, and that it was the true perennial rye, whereas much of the seed sold as. such was not really perennial ryegrass at all. Of the 2000 sacks of machinedressed, ce-tificd perennial rye produced last season, about 2500-3000 bushels have gone to the South Island, and the balance is scattered over the North Tsland, with the greatest quantities in Auckland, Taranaki and Hawke's Pay. Brown ?.op seed has been certified (free from red lop), for some years, and a very good export trade has been gradually built up. Unfortunately a heavy import duty imposed by the United States, will hamper this to some extent in future, but during last season, merchants worked day and night, dressing the s>?ed, in order to rush it to America before the new tariff became operative. No fewer than 178 areas were inspected ( 154 passed), and tlici area llms certified as being free from red top totalled 22.000 acres.

Cortlfled White Clover. A very interesting position obtains in connection with white clover certification, for it is likely that a special strain of New Zealand white clover will come out of this work and add still further to the popularity of our seed in England. The position is that certification ol white clover was commenced the season before last on a basis of " old pasture," the requirement for certification being that the pasture should have been dowu for at least live years. This eliminated the short-lived types of Dutch clover, but did not. mean that, the certified seed was of any particular strain. Trials carried out at the Plant Research Station, show that n very excellent strain exists in New Zealand white clover, and it is considered that tlicro is sufficient of this to make certification of it, well worth while. Steps are now being taken to isolate as many areas as possible which contain this particular type, and eventually this will be certified as " New Zealand Wild White." North Island farmers are not so well aware of the certification work, carried out in connection with other crops, such as wheat and potatoes, nor are they so directly interested. The Department has for some years been certifying, dressing and re-selling wheat, and last season no less than 16,714 bushels was certified, siorne on account of a, private firm. The quantity handled by the Department was 13,050 bushels, to a total value of £4558. The work with wheat has now been put on such a sound basis that the Department will no longer need to purchase and rc-sell the certified wheat. This sido of the work will now be handled by the merchants. Potato Certification. Potato certification is carried out under conditions not dissimilar from | those quoted above, and has been largely 1 availed of during the last two seasons, principally of course, by South Island farmers. The preponderance of South Island supplies is clearly illustrated by South Island applications last season, for these totalled 375 as against only 33 for the whole of the North Island. The method adopted with potatoes, is for the Agricultural Department to collect a sample of the seed from the growers, and grow these under uniform conditions, so that the growth and yield of the different samples may be compared. The difference between yields is tremendous, and makes certification highly desirable. To show the value of really good tested seed, those connected with the work, quoted the case of 34 crops of Dakotas, highest in the list, the yields from these varying frdn 7.6 tons to 11.6 tons per acre. No fewer than 24 of these crops can be traced back with certainty over the last two seasons, to one grower. It was shown that while uncertified seed may be as good as certified, the chances of the grower receiving seed as good as certified, is very remote. Because yield is so apparent in the case of potatoes, the work appears very spectacular. Actually the other seed certification work, in its own sphere, is equally as spectacular, but in dealing with grass species and bulk yields, it is more difficult to show how very much superior the certified seed really is.