FIELD DAY

Southland Times, Issue 22066, 13 July 1933, Page 9

FIELD DAY

EXPERIMENTAL FARM.

CROPS AND PASTURES VIEWED. CHECKING CLUB-ROOT. Two very important problems of the Southland farmer, the checking of clubroot and the''establishment of permanent pastures, were fully discussed at the experimental farm at Winton yesterday when between 50 and 60 farmers attended a field day arranged by the farm committee. Although the present time is practically a “dead” season as far as farming is concerned, the day proved a particularly interesting one to those present, and lectures delivered by Mr R. B. Tennent, chief instructor in the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture for Otago and Southland, on some of the major problems of the present time were listened to with interest. Before commencing the demonstration that had been arranged, the chairman of the farm committee, Mr D. 11. McLean, extended a welcome to those present and introduced Mr Tennent, Mr A. Stuart, agricultural instructor for Southland, and Mr G. L. Smart, the farm manager. He referred to the work that was being done on the farm, and said that the instructors supplied by the Department of Agriculture were of great benefit to the fanning community. It was a mistake for any farmer to get into a rut and to do a thing simply because his forefathers had also done it. Conditions were always changing and the fanners should | make use of the instructors supplied bv the Department to keep abreast of the times. Certified Ryegrass. The problem of securing permanent pastures was first touched on by M’ Tennent, who said that the Department had received a great deal of abuse through the Press for introducing New Zealand Government certified ryegrass seed, miscalled Hawkes Bay ryegrass seed. In the past two types of ryegrass had been extensively used in New Zealand, Italian ryegrass and perennial ryegrass. In the past where ordinary ryegrass had been used farmers found that their pastures ran out quickly and they were put to a lot of expense sowing them down again. The Department had been as much in the dark as anyone else and had advised manuring and top-dressing. That advice had been wrong up to a point, because there were many different strains of ryegrass and while topdressing might restore some, others were of such a temporary nature that they simply died out. The Department had investigated the matter and had found that there were types of ryegrass that lasted for years and they had concentrated on that type and had produced the certified seed from it. It was said to be unpalatable, and it was also said to be no good for seed growing purposes. As far as Southland was concerned the latter claim was correct, but the Department did no.t recommend it to Southland farmers for seed production, but for permanent pastures. In dry climates it would produce seed with a very high percentage of germination, but in a damp climate such as Southland experienced, the percentage of germination was very low. Value of Lime and Super. A move was made into a paddock of swede turnips where a very interesting result following on liming was seen. The greater part of the paddock had been limed over 11 years ago, Mr Tennent said, but a strip had been left without lime, and those present could see for themselves that that strip was choked with weeds, while the rest of the paddock was clean. That showed how lime could be used to control unwanted growths. A manurial trial plot was inspected, and it was evident that the best results had been obtained with the use of a mixture of superphosphate and carbonate of lime in equal quantities. Super certainly had an effect on the germination of turnip seed, Mr Tennent said, but that was overcome by the use of lime. It had also to be admitted that super would add to the acidity of the soil, but that was also overcome by the use of the lime. Dried blood was also very bad for germination, and if it was used it should be put through the front spout of the ridger so that it would be buried under the seed. For a straight out turnip manure super and lime were the most economical, Mr Tennent added. Organic nitrogen such as was contained in dried blood certainly increased the size of the turnips, but inorganic nitrogen did not do so. All that eould be said for it was that it increased the growth of the green tops, but every farmer knew that the true feed value of his crop was in the roots. Bonedust was very slow in action, as were also raw phosphates. Reverted super was a good manure, but it was slower than ordinary super and was more costly than super and lime mixed on the farm because the cost was increased by railage on the lime used in manufacturing it. “If you use super,” he said, “you must keep up your liming programme. The manufacturers of super claim that it does not increase the acidity of the soil, but tests show that it is acid and lime must be used to counteract that.” Club Root Infection. Variety trials that had been carried out in another section of the paddock were next visited, and Mr Tennent referred to club-root resisting turnips. It was a mistake to say that any strain of turnips was immune from clubroot, he said, but there were a number of varieties that resisted the disease, and in this connection the Bruce turnip was an absolute winner. He explained how it had been evolved in the islands to the north of Scotland, and how it had only recently arrived in New Zealand. It had been tested under very severe conditions, and while it had not proved 100 per cent, immune it was very free from club-root and was a good cropper. He had about 40 letters in his office from farmers in Southland stating that they had grown Bruce turnips with entire satisfaction and intended to go on growing them. An examination of the Bruce turnips and the commercial swedes alongside them would show that while the Bruce turnips had traces of club-root on the hair roots the swedes had the other variety, which attacked the bulb of the turnip and stopped its growth. After referring to the precautions taken to check club-root in Denmark, Mr Tennent went on to discuss the Heming swede, which had been evolved in that country. The Herning swede certainly resisted club-root to a considerable degree, he said, but it appeared to be more prone to dry rot than other varieties and was not a heavy cropper. Consequently it was a mistake to use Heming seed on clean land, although it could be grown with good results on club-root infested soil. Spreading of Disease. Club-root was a very infectious disease, Mr Tennent said, and was very easily spread. There was club-root in the field they were inspecting and those present could carry infection to clean land on their boots. Cattle would carry it in much the same way and if stock was allowed to graze on an infested field and then turned out on to a clean field the infection would be spread by their manure. However,

there was one good thing about it; it could not live in a sweet soil. Consequently if the farmer could sweeten his soil by liming and by working it well so that it was thoroughly aerated the club-root infection would be killed. In reply to a question regarding dry rot, Mr Tennent said that dry rot was carried in the seed, and it was believed possible to kill it by treating the seed. Experiments were still being carried out in that direction, but success was already claimed and there was a movement to treat all seed before it was sold. Dry rot would start in one turnip and then spread rapidly to other turnips in the vicinity, but it would not attack a turnip below the ground, and where seed was grown the bulbs were protected from the disease by covering them right over. The black inside seen in turnips was another disease called hollow heart, and was due to a fungoid growth that had got into the turnip through an injury in the skin. Pastures Inspected. Some of the pastures on the farm were next inspected and those present had to admit that the certified ryegrass had remained at full strength while other types had practically died out. “It has been argued that this lacks pala lability,” Mr Tennent said, pointing to a patch of well covered ground which had been sown with certified seed, “but will anyone here argue that a self-respecting Southland sheep will starve on that (pointing to a plot with scarcely any ryegrass) while this is here for it to eat?”

After other points of interest on the farm had been fully studied, Mr John Ewan addressed the gathering and said he was sure they had seen enough that afternoon to convince them that there was no profit in inferior seed and that the purest seed was the cheapest in the end. The Department of Agri-

culture was doing a great deal of good for the farmers of New Zealand, but he was afraid that some farmers did not appreciate what was being done for them sufficiently. Farmers should take for their motto, “Breed the best you can, feed the best you can, shelter the best you can, which means farm the best you can; live as if you are going to die to-morrow and farm as if you are going to live for ever.” Ho moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr Tennent and called for three cheers.