TOPDRESSING PASTURES

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 22 (Supplement)

TOPDRESSING PASTURES

NEGLECT WILL BE COSTLY INCREASING THEIR EFFICIENCY. VALUE OF CERTAIN FERTILISERS. “Tire need.for continuous topdressing of Taranaki pasture lands is shown in detail in the following notes by. Mr. J. M. Smith, Department of Agriculture. “The maintainance of a high production sward will be possible only where the fertility of the surface soil is high. Farmers in Taranaki have, appreciated this point for many years, and consequently the topdressing of permanent pastures with .artificial fertilisers has been a recognised practice in this province. . ■ u .

“Just how necessary this mantaining of fertility by topdressing is, and that the point is appreciated by dairy farmers, is indicated by the quantity of manure that is being applied even in these difficult times. Economies have to be effected on dairy farms, .but these economies ' must not be allowed to interfere with efficiency of production, and therefore any reduction in topdressing must be the last saving made. “Some fanners will tell you that a year without manure will not affect production; it may not affect the following year’s ..production, which will be kept high on account of the residual manure present from previous topdressing, but a definite weakening of the sward will probably take place the second and third year, and one year’s weakening will probably take three or four years building up. The farmer who lets his pastures slip back at this stage of affairs, will .not be in a position to reap the benefit of better prices when they do arrive. -

“Phosphatic manures have . been the manures most used in Taranaki'in the past,, and this in keeping with other districts, as our New Zealand soils.. are known to be deficient in phosphate. Basic slag, superphosphate, basic super, and other similar standard phosphatic -manures have been the means of keeping our pastures in a high state of production up till the present. Present indications in Taranaki point to a potash deficiency. being brought about. It is only natural to suppose that in a dairying district where there is a comparatively heavy drain on the natural potash resources of the soil, this potash must in time become' deficient.

“It appears that parts of North Taranaki, if not the whole of it, have reached this stage, and potash promises to be as important over the next 10 years as phosphate was over the past 10 years. “The use of nitrogenous manures can hardly prove profitable at the present time except for the express purpose of securing extra early grass, or endeavouring to promote out of season grass. The success of this, however, must depend to a large extent upon the weather, and upon the condition of the pasture.”