MANURIAL EXPERIMENTS

Waipa Post, Volume 38, Issue 2269, 16 February 1929, Page 3

MANURIAL EXPERIMENTS

SIMPLE PLANS FOR FARMERS,

With such a variety of artificial manures on the market, farmers are frequently at a loss to kno(w which to use and in what proportion and combination the separate ingredients should be applied to their various crops. The cheapest fertilisers are not necessarily the best, nor are the worst. The three plant foods which are found in various artificials are nitrogen phosphates, and potash, and each of these has its own particular use in the growth and full development of the plant. One cannot replace the other, and therefore there is no point in comparing the price of a nitrogenous fertiliser with a phosphatic or potassic one, although this is frequently done. The' various phosphatic manutres such as superphosphate, steamed bone flour, basic slag, and ground mineral phosphate, have been found most valuable fertilisers fo)r grassland, but the farmer has to find out for himself which one will give him the best and quickest returns at the most economic figures. This can easily be done by putting down a simple scenes of plots on an acre and fairly uniform ground. A suitable plan is as follows:

Choose an acre and divide it into four plots, each a quarter of an acre in extent, the acre may be square approximately 70 yards by 70 yards), of an oblong (approximately 140 yard by 40 yards), according to the shape and contour of the field. On each of the plots put an equal quantity of phosphate, taking as a basis lOcwt 30 per cent, basic slag to the acre. The quantities required will then be for each quarter acre; 2icwt basic slag (30 per cent.), 2i cwt superphosphate (30 per cent.), H cwt steamed bone flour (60 per cent.), li cwt ground mineral phosphate (60 per cent.). To complete the experiment dress half of each plot with kainit or 30 per cent, potash manure salt at the rate of 6cwt kainit to the acre—i.e., 3cwt of kainit or licwt 30 per cent, potash manure salt to the acre.

We have now got a sceries of eight plots designed to show the relative merits of the various phosphates alone and also the phosphates combined with potash. If the farmer is interested in only two of these fertilisers,, then the demonstration becomes simplified and contains four instead of eight plots.