WHAT WHEAT TO SOW

Southland Times, Issue 24438, 19 May 1941, Page 3

WHAT WHEAT TO SOW

ANALYSIS OF CROPS IN 1940

An interesting analysis of the varieties and yields of the wheat crops harvested last year in the Southland and Wallace counties is given in a statement which has been issued by the Wheat Research Institute. , The statement reveals the fact that for this harvest the two counties grew 455 crops of wheat compared with 332 the previous season and also that Cross 7 very largely replaced the Tuscan variety between 1938 and 1940.

Every year the Government Statistician makes available extracts from the threshing returns, and these are analyzed by the Wheat Research Institute so as to give a guide to farmers as to the most profitable varieties for the different districts. These returns cannot be analyzed until threshing is completed, and the latest figures now available are those for the 1940 harvest. For the harvest of 1940, the counties of Southland and Wallace grew 455 crops of wheat, compared with 332 in the previous season. The total comprised 394 crops of Cross 7, 39 of Tuscan, 11 of Taiaroa and 11 of all other varieties taken together.

Cross 7 has very largely replaced Tuscan as the following figures will show:—ln the harvest of 1938 there were 203 Tuscan crops and 17 Cross 7 crops; 1939, 191 Tuscan, 98 Cross 7; 1940, 39 Tuscan, 394 Cross 7. In 1936 Southland and Wallace grew 71 crops of Montana King, covering over 700 acres, but this variety has now practically disappeared. The yields of the three chief varieties in 1940 were:—394 crops of Cross 7 averaged 40.3 bushels an acre; 39 crops of Tuscan averaged 37.5 bushels an acre; 11 crops of Taiaroa averaged 50.5 bushels an acre. TAIAROA YIELDS WELL Cross 7 evidently suits the district very well. It is easy to harvest by the binder, stands up well even to very heavy crops, and ripens early. The eleven crops of Taiaroa yielded very well, but it must not be expected that this performance will be repeated constantly. There is always a tendency to sow seed of a new variety in the best field on the farm and probably also to sow it only on small areas. Taiaroa, however, proved a good yielder in the Southland trials where it was in competition with other varieties. It also has the advantage of ripening earlier than other varieties, which is important in a district where harvest conditions are sometimes difficult. On the other hand, Taiaroa has weak straw and tends to go down if there is vigorous growth. It is therefore recommended only for later spring sowings, when it will probably outyield any other variety sown at the same date.