GRASSES AND CLOVERS

Waikato Independent, Volume XXIX, Issue 3103, 27 June 1929, Page 2

GRASSES AND CLOVERS

STRAIN INVESTIGATION. ,', AGROSTOLOGIST 'S ADDRESS. .In -the unavoidable absence' of Mr. E. Bruce Levyy of the. Massey Memorial College, J. W. Woodcock read Mr. Lovy'&_addrcss oh "-Improved Strains of Grasses and Clovers" at the Cambridge Farm School recently. Grassland research in New Zealand is directed toward a three-fold goal: (1) To know just what species of grasses and clovers fit the conditions of soil, climate, etc., as these exist on the farm at the present moment; (2) to know how best we can modify -or change existing conditions on the farm in order that high-production species may thrive there; and (3) to know what part strain selection within the species plays in relation to (1) and (2). ' " •

By species selection and strain selection, we con meet almost any requirement of the habitat—that is, if a soil is poor, hard-conditioned, and dry, we can grass that soil with danthonia, ratstail, bay grass, suckling clover, clustered clover, hairgrass, etc.; if a soil is poor, wet, and heavy, we can grass that soil with brown-top, lotus major, or stunted paspalum. But the real problem at the root of pasture improvement is not the choosing of species to suit the soil conditions as they exist, but it is the modifying of those soil conditions so that high-production species may thrive. Take rye white as our standard and make rye-white our Ideal, and endeavour, by manuring, by drainage, by soil aeration, harrowing, ete;/and by proper utilisation to create the right habitat, the right, growingplace for these two species to dominate all other species for as long a periotl of the year as possible. Not that we want our pastures to consist of these two species only, but they should dominate all others. If we sow a mixture, and if any other; species but rye-white comes to dominate, then we fall away from the possible ideal—not that dominant paspalum'pastures or dominant cocksfoot pastures are readily bad, but, allowing these, wo fall away from the possible ideal. Dominant brown top pastures on any easily-ploughed country and easily-manurable country should not be tolerated on any" soil in New Zealand. It is a question of, choosing the best strains oi rye-white-procurable and then building up fertility to keep rye-white going—aim for \hc rye-white ideal.. We make rye-white our ideal, for, havitag attained this, then we know (1) that we are maintaining a high soil fertility standard; (2) that our soil moisture content is right, not too wet or too dry; (3) that our utilisation of the herbage produced is, correct; ryewhite will not tolerate dense shade, and if utilisation is at fault, shade-making and shade-enduring, grasses, such as cocksfoot and paspalum, may soon come to dominate the rye-white and literally smother it out; and (4) that virtually all food consumed is milk-producing food, whether it be of the dairy cow 'Or the ewe. •■-*•, In this lecture I do not intend to. deal with methods of building up to our fertility standard; nor yet with drainage; nor utilisation of the herbage. I want to confine my remarks now' to recent work and its bearing from the point of view of strain in grasses and clovers. . . Perennial Ryegrass. New Zealand depends more on perennial ryegrass than on any other grass, ahd it is becoming more and more imperative that our reliance on this grass should not be shaken. Practically all betterment of grassland depends on the presence of a ryegrass that can respond. Of late years, certain types of ryegrass have'failed to persist, even under high and moderately-high fertility upkeep, and we have come to regard this failure as an inevitable feature on many soil types, so much so that there has arisen in many parts of the north and south a school of thought that claims it a fatalmove to breakf-up a pasture, and re-sow, their major claim being that the sown species rapidly fail after the first year, and that it takes, years to get that pasture back into anything like a sward again. As a result, thousands and thousands of acres of w«ak, inferior turfs are left down, and pounds and pounds' worth of top-dressing applied to those wetik, inferior turfs.

The reason of this failure of the pasture from the second year I claim is due largely to the use of the wrong type or strain of ryegrass. Instead of the. genuine perennial there exists a pseudoperennial —a false perennial which under our trials is proving less persistent even than Italian ryegrass. On really good! soil under liberal manuring white clover smothers it; on medium soil it may hold a little longer because of less competition from white clover; on poor soils it dies out practically in 12 months. - N ■ ■-•.'--. The true perennial is a sticker; it can withstand hard and starvation con-

'fails to survive hard* conditions or temporary starvation conditions. The knowledge that this failure can ditions for years; tho-pseudo-perennial be to a large extent avoided; that if a genuine_perennial bo sown there will persist a ryegrass that will respond to manuring and will pay handsomely onward from the day. of renewal, will be far-reaching; and I prophesy that just" as soon as we can get-back on to the market genuine perennial ryegrass at a reasonable price there will be a revival of the plough and a subsequent manuring of a turf that will be worth while. White Clover. As in the case of ryegrass, there are persisting and- non-persisting strains also of, white clover. Arable farming for; centuries, it would appear, has evolved" a more or less, annual type throughout the greater part of the European States. There exists in certain parts' of England, notably in Kent, old -permanent grassland types that are true perennial white clover; and. such, types exist for the great part in New Zealand. Our white' clover is excellent, and certainly farmers should; use. no other. Nevertheless, -there are probably numerous types in New Zealand, and* much work has yet to be done-in classifying those white clover crops which are taken from districts that differ markedly in the" type of agriculture practised. There' are those crops harvested from permanent grassland and those harvested from volunteer white that .come away in the down of some temporary crop, no white clover seed having been sow*. It is highly improbable that this volunteer white is other than of permanent long-lived strains when we take into consideration the short while arable farming lias been in vogue in New Zealand compared-with other parts of the world. Nevertheless, I 1 feel the time is ripe for a full investigation into these different New Zealand white clover crops to nip in the bud any tendency to production and perpetuation. of short-lived white clover strains in New Zealand.

Mr. Levy's views and. opinions oh other grasses will be dealt with in further articles in later issues..