TOP-DRESSING PASTURES

Taranaki Daily News, 25 July 1929, Page 19

TOP-DRESSING PASTURES

THE USE OF SUPERPHOSPHATE. A WONDERFUL STIMULANT. The essence of successful dairying lies in the quality of the pastures. Quality in pastures can only be obtained by the liberal use of fertilisers. Dairy farmers have learnt by experience that superphosphate used as top-dressing has a wonderful beneficial action in stimulating the growth of grasses and clovers. This fertiliser, which provides phosphates in a water-soluble form, gives quick returns, especially when applied in winter and early spring. It stimulates root grow’th, makes the pastures more palatable, and provides that mineral matter so essential io cows during pregnancy and during lactation. PHOSPHATES NOT WASHED AWAY It is a mistaken notion that, because superphosphate contains w’ater-soluble phosphates, these leach away in the drainage water. This is not so, as can be easily demonstrated by passing water through a tube packed with soil to which superphosphate has been applied. No phosphates are found in the drainage water. They are completely absorbed by the surface layer of soil and are used by plants as required. PHOSPHATES ESSENTIAL FOR DAIRY COWS. It is not always realised what large quantities of phosphates are required by dairy cows. Besides requiring a large quantity during pregnancy, the dairy cow must absorb food containing phosphates for her own maintenance and for the production of at least five to six times her own weight in milk per annum. The question a dairy farmer may ask himself is whether his cattle are receiving sufficient phosphates for the purposes mentioned above. It may be asserted with confidence that very few cow’s do receive sufficient phosphates to maintain a maximum production of milk and keep them in good health for a period of years. FREQUENT DRESSINGS MEAN HEAVY MILKERS.

Progressive dairy farmers are now topdressing more frequently; it now being common practice to - top-dress tw’ice or even three times a year with soluble phosphates as found in superphosphate. By doing so the pastures are continually fed with that ingredient most required by dairy eattle, w-ith the result that the milk-producing capacity of cattle is maintained at its fullest capacity and the animal retained in normal health. The day of the use of slow-acting fertilisers is past; the dairy farmer cannot afford to wait months for results. Thus the supremacy of superphosphate as a phosphatie dressing for pastures required for intensive dairying is firmly established.