GROWING OF CROPS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21242, 12 October 1940, Page 19 (Supplement)

GROWING OF CROPS

VARIETIES OF RAPE CHOU MOELLIER SOWING (No. 2) Rape is most suited for pigs and dry cattle. Cows in milk will be included to produce feed tainted milk, especially if fed on rape within three hours .of milking. Broadleaved Essex, Dwarf Essex, and Giant are the main varieties of rape. Giant is becoming more popular in view of its heavier yields. The seed should be sown in Tin or 14in drills at the rate of 2 to 31b an acre. The crop will mature in about ten weeks to three months, so that sowings should be made about this period prior to the time when feed supplies will be required. Mustard seed at the rate of 4 to Boz an acre should always be sown with rape, its function being to aid digestion. Rape is most economically utilised when fed off in breaks. Sufficient material for a few days should be made available at a time, and if

wastage is apparent, the areas should be reduced. The crop should be used prior to flowering, as it is likely to cause bloat at this later stage. Chou Moelliei

This crop will grow well on a good deep loam. The seed is sown in October and November in 14in and 28in drills at the rate of 1 to 21b seed an acre. In some parts sowing in 7in drills has been practised with good results, the crops being finer in the stem and more leafy.

When sown in the wider drills, intercultivation should be practised, especially in the early stages of growth. In the wider drills plants should be thinned to 12in intervals where necessary to allow of greater plant development. Green cereals are often grown to provide an extra “bite” during late winter and early spring. For this purpose Algerian oats and skinless barley have been employed quite successfully on dairy farms. On occasions a legume such as tares or peas has been associated with the cereal, but the sowing of the latter alone is a much commoner practice. Algerian oats sown at 2 to 2£ bushels an acre in 7in drills in Ajpri/1 'will give good winter and early spring feed for dairy cows. If judiciously grazed the crop may be allowed to continue after grazing for hay. Barley sown at 1£ to 2 bushels an acre will perform a similar function, although oats would usually be preferred.