SUTTON CUPS

Southland Times, Issue 22916, 15 June 1936, Page 5

SUTTON CUPS

Swede And Turnip Competitions RECORD ENTRIES Record entries were received this year for the swede and turnip competitions for the Sutton Cups. Mr J. Stevenson (Wendon) won the swede competition and Mr A. O. Fleming (Mabel) gained first place in the turnip section. ; These competitions were inaugurated in March, 1927, when Sutton and Sons, of Reading, England, presented two cups, valued at 25 guineas each, to the Southland A. and P. Association. One cup was for the best turnip crop and the other for the best crop of swedes. The competitions are open to any grower’s seeds and a cup has to be won five times by a competitor before it becomes his property. It was decided by the Southland A. and P. Association that the areas of crops eligible for the competition should be four acres of swedes and five acres of turnips. Thirty-nine entries came forward for the swede competition this year and six for the turnips, as compared with 18 and three respectively last year. Entries were received from districts as far apart as Freshford, Papatotara and Waikaka Valley and, as a result, the judging occupied five days. Details of Piacings. Mr Stevenson secured a clear-cut victory in the swede competition with a yield per acre of 85 tons and a total of 119 points; Mr R. W. Maher (Freshford) was second with a yield of 77 tons to the acre and a total of 113 points; and Mr J. Wilson (Otikerama) filled third place with a yield of 71 tons to the acre and a total of 107 points. Mr Fleming won the turnip competii tion with a yield of 48 tons to the acre I and a total of 84 points; Mr C. C. Munro I (Timpanys) secured second place with a yield of 44 tons to the acre and a total of 77 points; and Mr F. G. Clark (Wrights Bush) was third with a yield of 42 tons to the acre and a total of 76 points. Judges’ Comments. The judges, Messrs A. S. Ronald and A. Stuart, said the average of 60 tons for the total 39 crops entered compared favourably with crops of normal seasons. For the past two seasons, however, the average yield had been only 44 tons. This year only tlirce crops had been below last year’s average. Very little evidence of aphis or clubroot attack had been noticed, the judges’ report continued, but the ravages of the diamond back moth were increasing. Dry rot was in evidence in most of the crops, as in most cases this disease was seed-borne, but in no instance had the infection been severe.

Tire most prevalent infection was mottled heart. Of the 39 crops entered only three were found to be free from this trouble. Control of this disease could be secured by the inclusion of borax in the fertilizer, and its use was recommended to all growers. A slight interference with germination might result, but this could be counteracted by increased feeding, or the application of the borax with fertilizer or lime as a “pre-topdressing.”