PLANT RESEARCH

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1934, Page 12 (Supplement)

PLANT RESEARCH

MASSEY COLLEGE ACTIVITY SYSTEMATIC BOTANICAL WORK. STATION’S ANNUAL REPORT. A perusal of the annual report of the Plant Research Station at Palmerston North, one of the most important and flourishing activities of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Rsearch, would probably cause quite a number of readers to comment with surprise upon the wide range of activities reviewed, and no readei* could fail to be impressed with the value to the Dominion as a whole of the work done by the scientists there. Little of the experimental work is of spectacular nature, but nevertheless it is work which is already of incalculable benefit to the agriculturist and must be so to a greater extent in the future. To curtail such work owing to shortage of funds is to be penny wise and pound foolish; what the man on the land is being saved is much more than the cost of the research. Much of the systematic botanist’s time is taken up, remarks the report, in identifying specimens and giving advice thereon. This is a service which is being increasingly appreciated. Many of the plants sent for identification are suspected by the senders of being poisonous to stock'; others are horticultural specimens, and others again species of ecological value as indicator plants of soil and habitat conditions. The number of specimens received last year was about 4000, ranging from individual plants to large collections. As one result of this work it has been possible to give timely notice of newly-observed weeds likely to cause trouble if allowed to spread, such as buffalo bur, horse nettle, saffron thistle, marsh thistle, and squirrel-tail grass. The grasses and rushes of New Zealand have been the subject of continuous research work, as has also the whole alien flora of New Zealand. Work on mplasses and lichens is another phase of the botanists’ activities. The herbarium now contains close on 20,000 sheets and numerous additions have been made to all sections of it—the. indigenous, the introduced, and the exotic plants. Apart from their general utility for identification purposes, and for demonstration to visiting botanists, these collections serve as a basis for much of the systematic investigation carried out by this section. Special attention has been paid to the grasses, and the mosses of agricultural importance have been collected.; The policy of exchange with other institutions has been continued, much useful material having been received. In return Palmerston North has been able to supply collections both of general interest and serving the needs of investigators abroad of special systematic problems. The testing of rootstocks for fruit trees is another important line of research. With the object of investigating the commercial possibilities of filbert growing in the Dominion, a number of trees, grown in the station nursery, have been sent out to Auckland, Gisbome, Nelson and Otago for trial. SEED TESTING. During the year over 15,000 seed samples were received for purity analysis or for germination tests. This work necessitated the making of 9000 purity tests and 15,000 germination tests—a total of 24,000 tests. Of the total approximately 12,700 samples represented commercial lines of seed, the balance of 2500 representing chiefly samples tested for the Department’s own information, only 239 having been submitted directly by farm2OOO samples of perennial ryegrass were examined under ultra-violet light. During the year 1608 officially drawn samples of certified seed were tested and reported to the holders of the seed. A total of 1386 samples of certified ryegrass were examined and 39 or 3 per cent, rejected as having failed to conform to the required standard of purity for machine-dressed seed.

Six-hundred lines of seed, representing a total purchase of 307 tons of seed valued at approximately £22,000 were tested on behalf of the State and reported upon. Grazing, top-dressing experiments, and cropping experiments numbered 559 during the year, the field experimental work embracing crops of practically every kind.

The entomological section has been doing much work in connection with noxious insects, and the report contains full details of the breeding and liberating of parasites to keep the white butterfly in check. Control of the grass grub is another important line of investigation. The house beetle, too, is having much attention paid to it, and it would seem apparent that before long these and other undesirable insects will hardly find life worth living. PLANT DISEASE INVESTIGATION. In the laboratories all kinds of plant diseases have been investigated, and problems relating to seed and crop production have occupied much of the research workers’ time. “There is no parochialism in agricultural research the world over,” remarks the report. “The information is broadcast and is available for whomsoever will use it. New Zealand in the past _ has been particularly fortunate that this is so, and while at the moment we may regard New Zealand as evolving towards strains in plants and animals that may be superior to the original importations, yet we must not close our eyes to the fact that agriculture the world over is progressing along scientific lines and the importation of new improved stocks may enable us to make even better use of the wonderful climate, soil and talent we possess in the competitive race for agricultural supremacy. The importation of species and strains should go hand in hand with the improvement of our own present-day species and strains. “New Zealand should build for itself first and foremost, and it is in New Zealand that the results of research should first be translated into practice, otherwise the money spent in New Zealand in research is but enabling other countries to compete on an even basis. The close co-operation of the research station with the field for verification and demonstration and an active propaganda service is essential if New Zealand itself is first to reap the benefits accruing from research.

“Strain testing and strain building, ecological work in regard to seed mixtures, manuring and management, productive and nutritional values of species and strains and mixtures of these; genetical work in progeny testing and in the creation of new species and strains; pedigree seed production and the introduction of new species and strains are links in the chain of research fundamental to grassland progress. Strain testing, strain building towards pedigree seed production, green-keeping research and certain ecological and genetical work has occupied this station actively throughout the year.” One is inclined to wonder how the New Zealand farmer got on in the days when there was no plant research station to assist him. Possibly he either got on or got off, but the days of hit or miss are now over and agricultural work in all its phases is becoming an exact science, and the Palmerston North Plant Research Station is a necessary adjunct to the Dominion’s agriculture.