SEED MIXTURES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 55, Issue 3940, 16 August 1937, Page 5

SEED MIXTURES

FOR LOW RAINFALL AREAS. MR A. H. FLAY’S COMMENTS. A number of pasture seed mixtures for districts of low rainfall were recommended by Mr A. H. Flay, of the Canterbury Agricultural College, m a paper read to the annual conference of the New Zealand Grassland Association at Dunedin. Mr Flay (who is a son of Mr and Mrs J. R. Flay, of Te Rahu, and a brother of the local Farmers’ Union secretary, Mr C. J. Flay), said that the low-rainfall districts grew poor pastures of low-carrying capacity. They were situated in Canterbury, Central Otago, Marlborough, Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay, a total area of several million acres. Although the rainfall might be moderate to low, the distribution was often erratic and uncertain. Dry periods and droughts occurred usually, sometimes between spring and autumn. In the low-rainfall districts there were many soil types varying from soils of high fertility to the light shingle class of low fertility, some of which were conspicuously low in organic matter. The heavy soils, in general, produced pastures comparable with those of the high-rainfall areas. The soils might be classified into three main groups: Good medium soils, stiff clay or clay loams usually overlying impervious clay subsoils, and light to very light shingle soils, with very free drainage and extremely low wa-ter-holding capacity. The medium soils were capable of growing good ryegrass and cocksfoot, lucerne and all clovers without difficulty, even though the growth of these plants was retarded each dry period by lack of moisture. On these soils lucerne was specially useful, as had been demonstrated in Marlborough and North Canterbury. All other deep-rooted pasture plants such as cocksfoot, Montgomery red and ordinary red clover did very well. Ryegrass and white clover in normal and wet seasons gave extremely good results. Byadopting approved establishment and top-dressing methods good pastures could be grown and maintained for many years on these soils.

The clay soils were usually cold and somewhat sour in nature. They were often lacking in adequate drainage when wet and baked hard when dry. They were usually low in organic matter, and in need of heavy liming and phosphating before good pastures could be established and maintained. On these soils certified white clover, and certified ryegrass, together with Montgomery red clover and subterranean ; clover made good pastures only with liberal liming and top-dressing. The light soils generally were perhaps the most difficult to handle. They were naturally poor, and low in organic content. They held little moisture, and dried out very rapidly. It was here that subterranean clover must be given first preference. Red and Montgomery red clover, and to a lesser extent certified white clover along with cocksfoot and ryegrass, were, of course, important associates. Cocksfoot had not yet been fully appreciated on these soils simply because its establishment was relatively more difficult than that of ryegrass. Certified ryegrass, without abundance of clovers was disappointing.