A Farmer's Notebook SOIL RESEARCH IN SOUTHLAND

Southland Times, Issue 24419, 26 April 1941, Page 11

A Farmer's Notebook SOIL RESEARCH IN SOUTHLAND

Harmful Effects Of Acidity BENEFITS OBTAINED FROM LIME The farming community of Southland has for many years realized that excessive soil acidity has been a major handicap to the full utilization of superphosphate in particular and fertilisers in general. Also, they have taken practical steps on a huge scale to overcome the handicap by the application of many hundreds of thousands tons of lime. During the past few years they have improved the technique of liming the land and as the results of new methods became apparent the demand for lime has exceeded the capacity of existing lime works. As mentioned in last week’s notes, Mr J. L. Elliott’s article in the February issue of The Journal of Agriculture on methods of combating disadvantages of superphosphate on acid soils is of considerable interest, especially as it indicates that the problem of soil acidity is one of importance in parts of New Zealand other than in the south. Mr Elliott has also indicated that this Dominion’s interest in the problem represents a contribution to a definite world-wide trend towards the exploitation of methods to improve upon the high standard of efficiency already attained from the use of superphosphate. He has also suggested that manufacturers of fertilizers could help considerably in the work of research and has drawn attention to this aspect by quoting an extract from The Chemical Age which deals with the subject under “Possible Development of the Superphosphate Industry.” It reads as follows:—“That there should be more intimate co-operation and collaboration between manufacturers and agricultural chemists, experimental stations and farmers, is evident and we wish to give renewed emphasis to this view. The ideas of the customer should be sought and an endeavour made to meet his requirements, however vaguely and indefinitely they may be expressed. Only in this way can a favourable develop- | ment of the superphosphate industry be expected. The manufacture of superphosphate was first conceived by the greatest agricultural chemist of his time, Liebig, and it is felt that the superphosphate manufacturer, having concentrated his interest during the last 100 years mainly on the economic, mechanical and chemical aspects of the process of manufacture, should now devote some attention to the insistent task of agricultural research.” MANY SOIL TESTS That much valuable work can be done along the lines suggested has been proved in the South Island during the past 10 years. The manufacturers of superphosphate and reverted superphosphate have maintained a field staff during that period, and the work that has been carried out, backed up by the assistance of able chemists at the fertilizer works, has procured results of a notable character. There have been two major aspects of the work: first research investigations into the question of soil acidity, and how best to overcome the handicap caused by it; the second is, the production of reverted superphosphate which has gone a long way towards avoiding wastage of phosphoric acid. In the research work on soil acidity in Southland, in the Western Districts alone in the vicinity of 7000 paddocks have been sampled and tested for the degree of soil acidity present. The results from this work arc now so well known that very few progressive farmers undertake comprehensive liming programmes without first ascertaining from field officers of the fertilizer companies, the quantity of lime to the acre that each paddock requires.

As the outcome of the field work done, it was established that results from superphosphate on acid and semiacid soils were not thoroughly effective in varying degree. In order that loss in that direction should be minimized as much as possible on land on which it had not been possible or convenient to apply sufficient quantities of lime, reverted superphosphate was produced and recommended. The huge quantity of it that is now used by farmers is evidence that the chemist who produced it has conferred a benefit to farmers that has been greatly appreciated.

Nothing stands still in agriculture. As fairly full conformation is acquired on one particular subject or aspect of it, other problems arise, and as Mr Elliot has suggested team work on the part of all concerned is vital and necessary if agriculture in this country is to produce its best results.