TALK ON MANURES

Shannon News, 28 March 1929, Page 4

TALK ON MANURES

PART NITROGEN" MAY PLAY. , That it should be the aim of farmers It. increase production during the, months when returns usually fell olf, rather than in the flush periods of the year, was the opinion expressed by Mr, Hudson, of the Fields Division of the Department of. Agriculture, when addressing farmers at Glen Oroua yesterday. The speaker dealt fairly fully with the various manures in general use pointing out that phosphates were the mainstay of the average farmer. Conip.’.nuivelv few areas in New Zealand were dressed with potash, there being no indication of a potash deficiency in the soil like there was of phosphates. However, be would discourage the use of potash as an experiment. Nitrogen was talked about a good deal at the present time and in New Zealand little was kndwn about its effects on the pastures. It had been considered that owing to the virgin nature of the soil there' was no necessity for the appli cation of nitrogen but it looked as if that was not altogether true. Experiments in Canterbury indicated that nitrogen was getting results with the cereal crops and the same might be the case with grass lands. ‘However, before nitrogen was applied it would be necessary to make up the soil deficicnccs in other requirements. Nitrogen had a great effect cn grass growth but would it be advisable to use the manure if farmers were unable to use the increased growth. If they could not use it they would be in a worse plight as they would find rough, rank pastures on their hands which the cows disliked. The management factor would play a bigger part than with phosphates. Nitrogen also had the tendency to suppress the clovers and the cause of this had not been ascertained yet. The aim of the department was to determine the value of nitrogen on New Zealand soils and trials were being conducted.