PASTURE MANAGEMENT

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 25, Issue 3759, 22 May 1936, Page 7

PASTURE MANAGEMENT

ADVICE TO FARMERS. ADDRESS BY MR W. ALEXANDER. There was a fair attendance of district farmers at the Oddfellows’ Hall on Thursday morning, to hear an address by Mr W. Alexander, fields advisory officer for a well known Auckland firm of fertiliser manufacturers and distributors. The meeting was convened by the Te Awamutu branch of the N.Z. Farmers’ Union, and the president (Mr A. T. Bryant) presided.

Mr Alexander took as his subject, "Some Aspects of Pasture Management.”

Mr Bryant introduced the speaker, and said that the Union executive desired to arrange for a series of helpful addresses on subjects of particular interest to all farmers. Mr Alexander was a keen student and a recognised authority, and his advice should be listened to with a great deal of interest

Mr Alexander, at the outset, said he was glad of the opportunity of handing on information obtained in one part of the Dominion for the benefit of farmers in other districts. He wanted to give them practical advice that could be applied by any farmer; there were many knotty points of argument and consideration, and it was desired tp chat with those who had tried various fertilisers on different lands. In the Dominion over ■lOO,OOO tons of artificial manures are used annually, and the value of about 20 per cent of it is lost to farmers through wrong methods of application being used. Drainage was the most Important cause. Bad drainage was as great a cause of failure as bad climate. Pastures must be built up from oelow the surface of the soil particularly in the South Island. Happily in the North Island this was not so vital a factor, but he could name parts where heavy wet country was encountered. In the Bay of Plenty there are areas where naturally porous land becomes waterlogged. On the Rangitaiki Plains waterlogged land is difficult to develop in the spring. The Galatea country, a few miles away, is much lighter, and different methods are necessary. There is good natural drainage, and country bought by the Government at £4 6s 8d per acre was now as good as some of the Rangitaiki land DRAINAG EESSENTIAL. at £3O to £6O per acre. The speaker went on to refer to Poverty Bay lands, which vary in quality just as greatly. Land impregnated with water is cold and stiff to work, costing more to obtain reasonable production than on the porous lands. The water in the subsoil must be removed, to allow bacteria in the subsoil to develop and do its proper work. Lime was important, by reason of its usefulness in stimulating other fertilisers. Phosphates have to have a mineral base, and lime is the best base. Iron and alumina occur in most soils, and lime stimulates fertilisers to counteract the iron and alumina. In Waipa County there is a lot of soil deficient in lime. Basic super is often criticised as uneconomical, farmers preferring to apply lime direct; but he Would say confidently that the manufacturing processes of basic super are beneficial. They bring about chemical changes to ensure 100 per cent efficiency in doing its proper work. A lack of balance in applying fertilisers was often the causd of -failure, and he explained how best results were obtained from experimental plots. Observation on large paddocks did not give the most reliable information. It there is a potash deficiency in the soil, best results will not be obtained from applications of fertiliser until the deficiency is corrected. DISEASE IN SWEDES. Continuing, Mr Alexander referred to the use of “Boron,” and told of the sugar beet growing in England and on the Continent. He was convinced that the disease in swedes in Auckland province known as brown or mottled heart could be eliminated by the use of the boron treatment. In England increased production per acre and more sugar content in the beet crops was obtained by using boron. The same success could be obtained here with swede crops. The Department of Agriculture had co-oper-ated with him in carrying out experiments, and he told of the splendid results obtained by using boron only a few pounds per acre are required. In England the boron is used at the rate of 14 to 18 lbs per acre. For swedes in New Zealand the application of 10 to 12 lbs Tier acre would cure brown or mottled heart disease. Poor patches in pasture were next referred to, and he claimed that they were caused by the application of unbalanced fertiliser. To get the fuli effect from artificial fertiliser it was necessary to have them- properly balanced.

Pasture species and their variation were next touched upon, and Mr Alexander asserted that the nature of any grass could not be changed by the use of fertilisers. Too many farmers blamed jhe fertiliser for failures, but really it was the wrong methods employed. Many times the type of pasture was the cause. He knew no grass better suited for spring growth than good ryegrass. The time of applying fertilisers was much misunderstood. Many farmers wasted money and effort by top dressing so early that the fertilisers applied were washed down below the point where they would do the most good. He was a firm believer in rotational manuring. Correctly balanced manutes applied at the right times of the year would save a lot of heart burning, money and labour. TOO HAPHAZARD. Farm management was, it seemed to him, far too haphazard. He had seen many instances of faulty management, and he quoted a Canterbury farm of 600 acres where fertiliser had been applied to 300 acres, and the same number of stock used to graze it. The consequence was that the slock became sick, through excess of feed. A similar case came under his notice in Poverty Bay, where stock (sheep especially) did not do as well as in the Waikato, through faulty management. Top dressing was applied haphazard. In some cases great quantities were applied, and not enough stock kept to eat down the stimulated growth. He was convinced that for every cwt of fertiliser applied

one extra ewe per acre should be carried. 3 Mr Alexander concluded amid applause, and then offered to answer questions to the best of his ability. QUESTIONS.' There was quite a shoal of questions forthcoming, and in replying Mr Alexander told of varying qualities of Te Kuiti, Kopu and Miranda limes, due to difference in the rock crushed. Lime companies were not required to give certificates of analysis; and supplies varied very appreciably. Rock and shell limes vary greatly, though all are of a marine origin. King Country lime may have been shell 100,000 years ago. Solubility of lime is the most important factor; and it should be remembered that plant food is definitely taken up in liqqid form. Shell lime is not a fertiliser, though it is of assistance to real fertilisers. Lime stimulates the phosphatie fertilisers; he quoted an Old Country saying about the use of lime alone keeping a farmer poor. Phosphate rock must be ground before it can be any use as plant food. Peaty land usually has a lime deficiency of up to 10 or 12 tons per acre, and there only would unground phosphate rock be any benefit ultimately. A mixture of 85 per cent super and 15 per cent lime was much recommended years ago, and is still favoured now, except that the mixture of hot super and cold lime was found to be best. So many farms differed in soil content that each was entitled to special treatment. Half a farm top dressed would give enough spring growth. For later growth, such as hay and ensilage crops the fertilisers should be applied later in the year. Top dressing for ensilage and hay paddocks should be applied the day those paddocks are shut up, not in the previous autumn. The man who top dresses twice a year is a better farmer than he who top dresses only once a year. In 80 per cent of cases where he had examined pastures infested with grass grub there was soil deficiency in the top inch of soil. He was convinced that in Waipa County much of the soil needed “livening up," but more investigation would be necessary before he would like to express an opinion as to the best and most economical method. If a pasture is dominantly ryegrass, with white clover, it does not need harrowing. To encourage ryegrass in a cocksfoot or brown top paddock harrowing would be very effective. But he thought too much harrowing was practised in the Waikato. A good tripod harrow, put over a paddock three or four times, would make it ready for ryegrass; later on a chain harrowing once a month would do all that is necessary. He condemned certain types of harrow. "Pulling” is not confined wholly to rye. Annual poa pulls in the same way. He thought most of the rye that "pulls” is the more permanent types, not Italian. A worn-out pasture can be rejuvenated by drastic harrowing in the autumn, then top dressing and the application of ryegrass. Animal manure encourages white clover, and to stimulate a greater proportion of ryegrass in such a paddock he thought, a synthetic fertiliser would be most beneficial, such as sulphate of ammonia or nitrate of ammonia. Nitrogenous manures are just too-slow acting to achieve the purpose. Three or four cwt of carbonate of lime applied each year is a reasonable amount if put on after a good top dressing of phosphates and lime, fie thought a ton of lime per acre should be the first application. But obviously there was no need to apply lime to limestone country. In general terms, lime is slow acting, and in the first year no results are apparent. Lime deficient land and pastures affects stock on them; cattle must have lime, and if it is not naturally in the soil and pastures it should be added.. Every 250 lbs of butter fat takes out of a farm the equivalent of 2 cwt of lime. It needs regular fresh applications of lime to restore the deficiency In the bush sick country south of Putaruru the only men making a success of their farming were those who regularly apply lime. Speaking generally, lime is very desirable, and especially so where phosphates are used. On Waikato country basic slag has been an excellent manure; it contains its own lime; it is not as fast as super, and dees not call for the same concentration of stock on a treated paddock. However, he thought phosphate was preferable to basic slag, economically. Basic slag is not economically as good as basic super nowadays, owing to the increased cost of basic slag. Magnesia and iron in slag had been condemned, but those minerals are very meagre. The phosphate content is the determining factor in its value. A small percentage of iodine is desirable in fertilisers, and nitrate of soda gives best results; next to that is Seychelles guano. Boron is on the market commercially; ordinary commercial borax is really the best, way of getting boron; the crystals need to be ground very finely. Fertiliser firms will soon be including borax in their preparations for swedes and turnips. The meeting accorded Mr Alexander a very hearty vote of thanks for his exceedingly interesting address, and the executive of the Farmers’ Union was congratulated upon its enterprise in arranging such a valuable address. The hope was expressed that Mr Alexander’s talk was only the first of a series.