WINTER GRASS.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13637, 23 August 1937, Page 2

WINTER GRASS.

RESISTANT TO DROUGHT. The agricultural value of phalaris tuberosa, a grass which has been sown' on a number of properties in Canterbury and probably elsewhere during the past two years, was the subject of a paper by Mr I. I>. Blair, of Canterbury Agricultural College, at the New Zealand Grasslands Association’s conference. This grass is being cultivated with considerable success in Australia, and its principal values are its high degree of drought resistance and its development during the autumn and early' winter, when permanent glosses are dormant. Mr Blair said that- a, very critical period in the life of a newly-sown phalaris area was the first year after sowing. Plants which survived this period and were in vigorous condition were likely to remain permanent. Grazing during this period should be adopted solely in the interests of developing the phalaris plants rather than from the point of view of seeking a high return from the pasture.

The phalaris plants wonljJ be firmly established by the second autumn, provided careful grazing had been practised in the seedling year. It was from then on that the great value of the grass was evident—namely, the vigorous, productive growth during autumn and early winter. The grass had been aptly described as the “king of winter grasses,” on account of the remarkable development which commenced during the autumn and early winter, while other permanent grasses became dormant.