FOOD FOR THE SOIL

Taranaki Daily News, 27 May 1933, Page 12 (Supplement)

FOOD FOR THE SOIL

ECONOMIC MANURING. ENGLISH WRITER’S ADVICE. At the present time one has to consider carefully not only what crops will repay expenditure on fertilisers, but also what are the limits of their profitable and kale are crops where advantage should be taken of the abnormally low price of sulphate of ammonia, says a writer in an English paper. Such crops are not worth growing unless, good yields are secured, but when they are good no crops will yield a greater or cheaper quantity of ' valuable foodstuff par acre. At least lewt. per acre of sulphate of amntonia should be sown at i seed-time along with the normal allow- [ ance of phosphate and potash, and dwo or more top-dressings of lewt. sulphate of ammonia should be given later. There is almost no limit to the.amount of nitrogen which a leafy crop such as kale can absorb. It is better to s P ei y* one’s money on an extra cwt. of sulphate of ammonia than, on the labour require for singling. Rather forgo singling and rely for additional ■ light and. room on mixing some rape and swede seed with the kale. Rape is useful in the mixture if only because it is less liable than kale to be attacked by “fly.”. Rothamsted reckons that lewt. of sulphate, of ammonia is good for an extra 30cwt. of mangolds. There are no figures for kale, but manure with faith and kale will, not let you down. Potatoes, particularly early potatoes because of their season, require soluble, quick-acting manures, and if the price is right no crop better repays generous treatment. Two-four-two (even three-four-two for earlies) of sulphate of ammonia, superphosphate and muriate, of potakh are about the right proportions and quantities in cwts.' per acre. . Hay is still a very necessary farm commodity, and where a farmer cannot produce all he requires by mowing more acres than usual-he will find that Judicious expenditure on fertilisers for hay will be well repaid. It is still more economical to use fertilisers to produce cowfood than to buy the article ready-made. Of the three usual components of a fertiliser mixture— nitrogen, phosphate ana potash—the nitrogen is the one which, used alone, will give the greatest response. But unless phosphate and potash have been used fairly regularly m the past it would not be advisable to vnannre with nitrogen only.. One-two-one of sulphate of ammonia,, superphosphate and potash salts would be an economical dressing. . . . , Choose a field that has been regularly well-grazed, and which in consequence will contain a good proportion of perennial ryegrass. If the pasture has not received phosphates in recent years it would be desirable to include 2cwt. of superphosphate along with the sulphate of ammonia, and, if the soil is light, lewt. potash salts in addition. For ah early “bite,” sulphate of ammonia is again the most potent and economical fertiliser. If farmers really want early grass, they must sow for it. In the succession of mild winters - experienced recently, Italian ryegrass fertilised in autumn either by dung or sulphate of ammonia and rested three months has produced abundant keep—cow keep, in fact—in January, and Italian ryegrass seed is cheap. After feeding off close in the winter it will still produce a luxuriant hay crop. For general utility purposes, including winter keep for ewes and lambs, a mixture of Italian ryegrass and trefoil occupies today a place among seed-mixtures. analogous to that of sulphate of ammonia among fertilisers. They are two things for which the farmer can be thankful. HEAVY AUTUMN PRODUCTION. GENERAL THROUGH TARANAKI. Until the last fortnight, when the sudden rough and cold spell caused a decided decline in. the milk supply, the output of dairy factories throughout North Taranaki had shown a remarkable increase during the late autumn, • as compared with the previous year. In some cases the returns from the dairy factories for April were fully 30 per cent in excess of those of the previous April, showing how favourable conditions have been to dairying this autumn, and how well the cows have kept up their milk supply. As a result the output of dairy produce over the whole season should show a marked increase, and while no doubt the increased production is to some extent responsible for the decreased price the increase will, on the other hand, to some extent compensate the farmer for the decreased value of his primary products. A glance at the returns of the Taranaki Group Herd-Testing Association for April show that the average yield per. cow this April was 26.971 b. of butterfat, as compared with 21.89 per cent, for last April, an increase of 5.081 b. of fat per cow, or 23.2 per cent. A similar increase on all the cows milked in Taranaki would amount to .a goodly sum. On the 16,957 cows tested by the Association it amounts to 86,141.561 b. fat, which at the low standard of 6d per lb. means an additional £2153 10s 9d distributed among those farmers. . It is noticeable, too, that the increase is fairly general all over the. district, the coastal lands which usually show the results of a dry autumn having this year benefited by the climatic conditions to the same extent as have districts situate in the higher country, wjtere a later spring is usually compensated for by greater autumn production. For instance the Mokau returns for this April are 25.751 b. of butter fat per cow. as compared with , 19!2’?1b. last April, an increase of 6.4Blbaiit, or 33.6 per cent., and the Oakura-Optmake group averages this April 26.801 b. fat, as compared with 23.98 lb. fat in the Okato group and 20.09 in the Oaonui group last year. In’.tmd the Moa group this April has an average production of 29.58, compared with 23.99 last ! April, an increase of ,5.691 b. fat or 23.7 I I per cent. Away inland at Kohuratahi the percentage increase is much the same, j being 20.9, the average for this April I being 27.54, as compared with 22.78, an j increase of 4.761 b. fat, I