EXPERIMENTAL AREA.

Southland Times, Issue 19172, 16 February 1924, Page 10

EXPERIMENTAL AREA.

ACTIVITIES AT GORE DURING SEASON. EXPLAINED BY MR R. B. TENNENT. There xVas a moderate gathering at the Gere Experimental Area on Tuesday after- : noon to hear Mr R. B. Tennent, of the , Department of Agriculture, explain the work being carried out there this season. Unfortunately, on account of the threatening ' nature of the weather, Mr Tennent had to be somewhat brief in his comments' on the various phases of research, and even then i rain set in about half way through and quite- a large area had to be passed over. In addition to his reference to the work in hand, however, Mr Tennent gave ' much valuable information of an incidental ! nature, and those who attended will no doubt - benefit to a considerable extent by I their visit.

‘ Like all of you,” said Mr Tfennent, “we are suffering from drought, and the erpps are not so go6d as they might be. One of the greatest things we have to do is to find out something about oats and the best types and classes to sow.” pealing with the 4 oat crops he explained the lay-out of the area devoted to their cultivation. To find the variety best suited to these parts they generally sowed two varieties. To eliminate the difficulty of the differences in the nature of the ground, which, of course, affected the yield, they had duplicated the crops at the area. Crown Dun Black Tartan and Garton’s Record oats had been repeated in plots in that order two or three times. The aggregate yields of the various classes would give a fairly accurate idea of their respective yielding qualities. They had all been sown on the same day under exactly identical circumstances. Commenting on a further plot of oats, Mr Tennent remarked that the several varieties shown had been specially selected in Sweden. The first section contained Golden Rain oats, which he said, had a great reputation and were apparently living up to it. “You want to remember the name,” remarked Mr Tennent, “as it will probably come on to the market one of these days.” Victory oats were sown in the next section, and were a little backward in comparison with the former. Mr Tennent drew attention to the fact that the oats in the next section were absolutely free from the effects of the birds. These were of a black-headed variety, Great Mogal, which was exceptionally good. King oats occupied the next section, and with reference to the whole plot it was pointed out that the crop had been grown under fairly severe conditions. “Under normal conditions, though,” announced Mr Tennent, “there is not the slightest doubt that all would give exceptional yields.” It was only by introducing jjew strains and varieties, he continued, that the best results would be obtained from oat growing. Generally the varieties sown on farms became so mixed that character was lost and crops went back.

Conducting his audience to the lucerne plot, Mr Tennent explained that the crop was of the Marlborough variety, z and was sown in 21inch drills. To look at it, he continued, one would say it was fairly good, with a fair amount of green feed, but he warned his listeners that if sown similarly to the way adopted at the area, they would have to work 365 days in the year to keep it free of weeds. If sown Tn 7inch drills the weeds would get ahead of one. In any case lucerne was not suitable for this part of the country, and did not give satisfactory returns. In the past a lot had been said to the effect that lucerne could be grown anywhere, out personally he could not recommend its cultivation. A sure crop like Western Wolths or oats and peas would “lick it out of creation.” It was a season like the present in which Iffcerne was supposed to hold its own, but this was not so with the area crop. When inspecting the turnip crop Mr Tennent based the majority of his remarks on club root. It was one of the biggest curses that had to be contended with, and killed out about 50 per cent, of the crops grown, and fully 50 per cent?, of the available land in this part of the country was infected. All over the world considerable research work was being carried out in an endeavour to find a deterrent, as it was recognised as one of the biggest, economic troubles known. Up to the present the Department’s efforts had failed; its work had proved the uselessness of lime in that connection, while, by treating the ground chemically, the root had been killed, and also all other growth thereon. Isolation was the only method which offered anything like satisfactory results. The area affected should be laid down in grass for a period of about six years to the entire seclusion of all crops of the cabbage family. Referring next to a crop of Garton samples. Mr Tennent explained that a similar experiment was being carried out at the Canterbury Agricultural College, the plots being in ter-sown with Canterbury and Southland oats. It was generally accepted in Canterbury' that Southland-grown oats grew better there, and they were endeavouring to find out which particular class of oats did better here. Some 30 plots had been inter-sown so as to •avoid the danger of any difference in the ground affecting the growth. From the general ' appearance, however, there was not much difference in the entire crop.

In explaining the lay-out of the wheat crops, Mr Tennent said that the different varieties were sown to ascertain their respective maturing qualities. Velvet was a nice wheat to grow, and the plot sown had the appearances of being the best on the farm. It was rather late in maturing. Marquis, the chief wheat grown in Canada, was good in milling quality, and was early in maturing—one of the first on the farm. It was generally ready three weeks before solid straw Tuscan, but an adjacent plot of the latter variety had the appearance of being about two weeks: earlier than the plot of Major. This, Mr Tennent attributed to the seed, which, he said, was a soft sample. He also explained that in some cases the pickling of tho wheat had the effect of retarding the maturing qualities. A small plot of Swedish rye was also pointed out, and it was explained that if sown in the late autumn it would provide excellent early'spring feed. * The weather at this point necessitated the company 'geeking the shelter of the hut. Here an informal discussion took place, the conversation centring chiefly on club-root atid the efforts being made here and abroad to find a means for its eradication.

Altogether the afternoon must be voted entirely successful, though it was unfortunate that the weather was unpropitious, for Mr Tennent had barely covered half the activities at present in progress.