Fertiliser Response Map To Quicken Soil Survey Work

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19132, 29 September 1936, Page 10

Fertiliser Response Map To Quicken Soil Survey Work

THE preparation of a fertiliser response map to give quicker in tor-. illation than can be obtained by a soil survey is suggested by -Ur. A. HCockayne, Director-General of Agriculture. J “This year, so Car as the use ot: fertiliser is concerned,” lie said, ‘Mias regained the position of 10‘29-dd. whieh was that of the greatest '“ill-: plovmcnf of fertiliser, tho tonnage iieing put down at .'•’.fitl.OOO to -11)0,0110. hi ihat rear I made the rasli jne--11 i(-1 ion iliai in. a decade IpdO.OOO tons would be used. 'flint was not! f n lulled. _ ! “The greatest single factor in 1 lie j improvement .of grassland lies along, topdressing, and here one feels that I many of our problems of 1b2!l Jl.nd | prior to it still remain to-day. T.i would like to see some of them really | cleaned up, part ieiilariy the emnro-j versv of aeid, and non-;ieid fertiliser, J wilieli is ns keen to-day as it was .10 J years ago. just as the economies of j to], dressing are as mdnilnus as they I were then. “Ntandardisalion of fertiliser prac-j tice, based on the economics of top-< dressed grassland mnnagement, is, to j my thinking, basal' to the whole con-j side rat ion of grassland progress. Fori that reason one feels that the noil, survey work, of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, translated into improved land utilisation, could easily be 1 lie basis on u'hich our standardised practices should be built. “it is felt, however, that something quicker than the soil survey and exact agricultural survey method is necessary to speed up our use of phosphate and lime, and later potash and nitrogen,” Mr. Cockayne added. “What is wanted is a fertiliser response map as soon as it can be done. I feel that the sum. total of our. experiments and experiences is sufficient to get this map out in a month. Why delay? We are all fearful of the query whether it will pay. “Certainly accurate economics would bo good, but one thinks that the premise that where there is a topdressing response topdressing will pay should lie the fundamental standpoint to adopt. - “We are using 350,000 tons of topdressing, costing under £1,000,000. Probably halt' our bulterfnt, £10,000,000 in value, rests on topdressing expenditure of £1,200,00(1. Wo topdress 2,000,000 acres a year. I say we should be topdressing 6,000,000 acres. If is it rather short-sighted policy which we are at present pursuing in grassland management.”