FARM RESEARCH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22695, 6 April 1937, Page 14

FARM RESEARCH

THE WORK AT RTJAKUBA STUDY OF RAGWORT SPREAD FERTILISERS AND MILK TAINT [from ouh own correspondent] HAMILTON, Monday Research to discover the best method of exterminating ragwort is being conducted by Mr. A. L. Poole, an officer from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, stationed at the Government farm school at Ruakura. Mr. Poole's immediate investigations are confined to a study of the way in which ragwort spreads. Special trays containing a film of oil have been prepared in the ground to catch flying ragwort seejl in order to determine the proportion of seed dissemination done by the wind; experiments arc being carried out to* see whether the weed 'takes more readily to thickly grassed' country or more sparsely covered soil; and wool from lambs off ragwort country is being examined to determine the extent of this method of spreading the seed. Feeding Experiments Two years' experimental work at Morrinsville to determine what soil foods cause tainting in the milk from dairy herds is being continued at Jluakuni. Suckling clover is suspected to he the cause of the taint, and experimental plots have been laid down, each treated with a different fertiliser or mixture of several. The best method of feeding pigs on dairy farms is being investigated in another series of experiments. Three groups of pigs within three pounds weight of each other were placed under three different feeding systems, one group being fed on skim-milk with two half-days a week on grass, another on a lesser ration of milk with two halfdays on grass, and the third being pastured day and night and receiving the same milk ration as tho second group. Skim-milk As Good As Grain Experiments with these pigs during tho last two years proved that skimmiik was' equally as good a food for pigs in tho Waikato as grain, and, further, was more economical. Investigations are being made to find out whether grain can be grown successfully in a normal season in tho Waikato climate to provide food for pigs during the off dairy season. Of special interest to Waikato farmers is the study of the three main soils in the district—Hamilton ash, Te Kowhai clay loam, and Horotiu sandy loam. Plots of these different soils are being treated with different fertiliser mixtures and the growth of pasture recorded "in each case.