DORMANT FERTILISER

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19339, 1 June 1937, Page 11

DORMANT FERTILISER

WINTER TOPDRESSING AVOIDING SPRING RUSH PHOSPHATES HOLD KEY It is sometimes advisable to spread phosphat in fertilisers during Ihe '‘dead" period in the winter. A statement to this etl‘eel is made by Mr. K. I’. Connell, of the Fields Division, Falihersum North, in the current issue of the JuuuaL of Agriculture, when supplying seasonal notes for the grass farmer, us follows: — On most, farms there are one or more grass paddocks which are more suitable than the majority of the paddocks for providing late winter and early spring .feed, especially if they are suitably managed. As a rule these are the paddocks which are well drained, which carry pastures containing a good deal of ryegrass, and which possibly" are provided with some shelter. Suet! paddocks in particular should be harrowed if droppings have accumulated, topdrossed in good lime, and grazed leniently rather than closely at this stage. If, after such treatment, they are shut, gp in i\|ay or early in ■lime, then in all but. the more severe districts they may lie expected to provide a substantial amount, of feed in the latter part of duly and in August,. If at this season dead pasture vegetal ion provides evidence of infestation by the grass-grub, then, when possible, feeding out of hay, silage, and roots should be concentrated on the infested areas unless these are in fields which are to lie put, under the plough iu the immediate future. The use in this connection of hay saved at too mature a stage of growth may supply considerable numbers of viable seeds of valuable pasture species, and these seeds, on germinating, tend to repair the damage done by the grubs. Further, the additional stock trampling and consolidation of the land which results from feeding-out either lessens tho activities of the grubs or assists in the recovery of any injured plants by favouring root renewal. Harrowing and Topdressing Apart from the paddocks specially treated for the production ot early feed as already discussed, farmers should now proceed as rapidly as possible with any harrowing and .topdressing that remain to be done before the arrival of the dormant season of grassland. .Manures applied when the soil is so cold that grass-growth has practically ceased have little or no elfeet until greater soil warmth returns. Just when it is too cold lo apply manures effectively .is controlled largely by geographical position, though such circumstances as drainage and aspect affect the matter; in tho coastal districts fertilisers as a rule may be applied with good effect later than iu cooler inland situations, and later generally in the 'North Island than in the fciouth Island. Although topdressing should be carried out before tho advent of the most inactive period of growth if this is at till possible, it sometimes may be advisable to topdross during the ‘'dead” period of pastures as an alternative to tho inconvenience and, possibly, ineflieiency arising from a heavy rush of work in tiie spring. Phospkatic manures applied in tho dormant period as a rule exert their influence as soon as the warmth necessary for growth returns; it is considered that normally their effect is merely delayed and not. lost—wide observations in the field support this view. The same position is believed to hold in general relative to both lime and potash. Nitrogenous Manures Differ But is is radically different with soluble nitrogenous multures such as sulphate of ammonia: if conditions unfavourable for growth prevail for any considerable period alter the application of such immures, their inilueuee, judging from fairly extensive field experience, is considerably lessened. Phosphates hold the key position in New Zealand.topdressing: the first and principal necessity is generally the application of phosphates, and so phosphates as a rule may be expected to give the greatest and most, immediate profits. There are exceptions (o this rule, but a fanner should make sure his case really is an exception before ignoring the rule in his practice. An exception may be expected when, on all but the richest soils, a visible benefit from prosphntes is not evident: trial applications of both lime and potash are highly advisable when distinctly visible results from phosphates are not obtained on soils of medium .to poor quality iif districts with an average rainfall of 2,mi. to JOin. or more. Incidentally, whether distinctly visible results are also profitable results is dependent largely upon the composition of the sward: a distinctly visible benefit in a pasture composed mainly of weeds and inferior pasture plants may also be a distinctly unprofitable result, but nevertheless, it may be of value as an indication of potential profit from topdressing to be realised when the composition of the sward is suitably improved.