ALBANY EXPERIMENTAL AREA.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXI, Issue 6, 21 December 1925, Page 383

ALBANY EXPERIMENTAL AREA.

NOTES ON OPERATIONS, SEASON 1924-25.

C. J. Hamblyn,

B.Ag., Assistant Instructor in Agriculture, Auckland.

The season of 1924-25 was a comparatively favourable one for this gum-land .area. .An. early spring followed by. a summer ,of . good rainfall gave the crops and pastures a good start. A long dry spell in the autumn checked growth somewhat, showing, however, to advantage the drought-resisting. qualities of; paspalum and kikuyu among the grasses, and of chon moellier, Japanese millet, and, .to . a .lesser extent, mangolds among the fodder crops. , . ~ ..

' The crops as a whole, in spite of the favourable season, were poor, due largely to the ravages of small birdswhich find secure shelter in the numerous hedges—to fungoid and insect pests, and to weeds, including twitches of various kinds and sorrel, with which the land, through continuous cultivation, has become very foul. 'ln general, the work on the area was confined to demonstrations of root, fodder, and special, crops, while, in pursuance of the policy outlined in the report on the area for. 1923-24 (Journal, November, 1925), three new plots have been put down in permanent-pasture mixtures for demonstration purposes . under grazing conditions. . The. ■ reduction .of . the cropping area has enabled the limited. labour strength to cope more.successfully with weeds and to give ,the necessary; cultivation to. the crops.

- A ; useful exhibit -of- root and fodder crops was made at the Albany Fruitgrowers’ Association. Show, - and was appreciated by farmers and others present. ■ : : •• • , .. .

CROPS.

Mangolds. This] crop has consistently done well at Albany. A small area of Jersey Queen was sown early in November, 1924, and

three methods of applying the fertilizer were again tested : (a) broadcasted immediately before sowing ; (b) side-drilled 2 in. to one side of the seed; (c) mixed and sown with the seed. . The strike and early vigour of the young plants were appreciably better where the seed was mixed with the manure even a week before sowing. There was no indication that side-drilling the manure gave better results than broadcasting. •

Swedes and Soft Turnips.— The same fertilizer-application test as with mangolds was tried with swedes and soft turnips. In both cases where the seed was mixed with the manure (3 cwt. superphosphate and iT cwt. blood-and-bone per acre) before sowing, the germination was poor and resowing was necessary. The strike with both the broadcasting and side-drilling methods was good. Turnip “fly” in the early stages of growth and dry-rot later caused much damage to the crop.

Chou Moellier. A small area of chon moellier was sown in November. The crop was badly attacked by cabbage-aphis in January and February, when practically all the leaves were stripped from the plants. A good recovery was made, however, and the crop stood the dry conditions well. The plants were cut and fed to the stock, giving in two cuts a good yield of forage.

Potatoes.— A further test was made with a -resistant strain from Mr. S. Bilkey, Taupiri, and sufficient seed saved to sow a larger area. The strain was free from blight, which slightly attacked neighbouring rows. . A number of selected English and American varieties were grown with a view to obtaining sufficient seed for further testing. .Several of the varieties give indications of being good croppers. Potatoes, however, have generally given poor results. at Albany, the soil being unsuitable for this crop.

Artichokes.— An area of j- acre was planted in Jerusalem artichokes, at the rate of 5 cwt. seed tubers per acre, with 3 cwt. of superphosphate and 1-I-cwt. of blood-and-bone manure per acre. The crop, the seed of which was ploughed in at the end of September, grew well, and yielded when dug for seed in September of this year 1 ton of tubers that is, at the rate of 8 tons per acre. In view of the fact that the demand for artichokes for seed is rapidly increasing, this would be a payable crop on small areas in the district. From £8 to £lO per ton was offered by merchants for seed.

Cabbages.— This crop has each year given a good yield at Albany. Cabbages are easy to grow, resist drought, and provide excellent winter feed for dairy stock. It has been demonstrated that on gum-land soils cabbages can be grown to advantage for autumn and winter feed.

Japanese Millet and Red Clover.— A plot was sown at the rate of 12 lb. millet and 6 lb. red clover per acre early in November, and cut for hay in January. This makes an excellent crop for feeding off by dairy cows. The red clover grows well with the millet, and the, crop can be used for hay; while the red clover provides excellent autumn and winter feed, and if top-dressed can be cut for hay the following season. .

Japanese Millet and Crimson Clover. — This crop was sown at the same time as the millet and red clover, but the crimson clover was much slower in growth and did not combine well with the millet. ’ >

Maize and. Peas.— A small area of maize and field-peas was tried. The peas grew well and climbed freely, the combination forming excellent forage for pigs, and, when cut and fed out, a better ration for dairy cows than maize alone.

Maize, and Vetches. This combination was also tried, but owing to the slower growth of the spring-sown vetches they were rapidly smothered and did not combine with the maize as well as the field-peas.

THEjORCHARD.

The orchard was sown half injblue lupins, at the rate of 3 bushels per acre, and half in Lotus hispidus, at 20 lb. per acre, at the end of September. Both crops were ploughed under for green manure in the autumn, the blue lupins giving the greater yield of green material for the purpose

PASTURES.

Top-dressing Trials on Showground. Satisfactory arrangements could not be made for the weighing of the plots on the Albany showground. .This year the whole area has been top-dressed by the lessee, and the plots must, now be abandoned. Although weighings have not been made on these plots, great interest has been taken in them by local farmers, and the efficacy of phosphates and lime in promoting clover-growth and improving a poor brown-top - danthonia - paspalum pasture has been clearly shown.

Cemetery Reserve.— This reserve of 3 acres has been leased for the purpose of supplying extra feed for the three ' heifers bought during the year to graze the grass-plots. The pasture consisted mainly of brown-top and suckling-clover. The area was top-dressed with 3 cwt. superphosphate per acre in the autumn, and a marked improvement is shown in the pasture. White clover, cocksfoot, and perennial ryegrass are already showing up, and the colour and growth of the pasture are improved.

Kikuyu and Paspalum. —-This area was surface-sown with a mixture of clover (red clover, 2 lb. ; Lotus major, 1 lb. ; and subterranean clover, 1 lb. per acre) in September, 1924, but so far with no success. The paspalum among the kikuyu is still confined to the original plants, and has been prevented from spreading by the stronger growth of kikuyu.

Kikuyu and White Clover. This plot was top-dressed with 3 cwt. per acre of basic superphosphate in September, 1924, and a marked improvement was shown in the growth of the white clover, which is spreading rapidly. The plot is now better grazed, and is in marked contrast to the adjoining kikuyu-plot in which there is no clover..

Kikuyu and Lotus Major. — The Lotus major continues to thrive among the kikuyu, and the two are readily eaten by stock. Lotus major has so far proved to be the best legume to combine kikuyu. The plots without a legume (either a Lotus or clover) demonstrate clearly the value of a nitrogen-gathering plant in promoting the growth of kikuyu. ' When closely grazed, and especially when grown with Lotus major or white clover, the kikuyu-grass was a favourite with the stock, and provided feed from early October until the first winter frosts. ■

f Over .fifty packages of kikuyu-plants have been sent but. to farmers for. planting, and many are extending their areas in this grass. ' f

White-clover Trials.- types ■ of white clover—English wild white, Dutch white, and New Zealand wild —were sown in separate plots with a mixture of English grasses' in the spring of 1924. Inspections were made . periodically throughout the year, and the differences in growth and habit observed. -

The English wild white was slow to start away, and covered the ground slowly. This spring the growth has been more rapid. Stock showed preference throughout for New Zealand wild white, which was kept more closely grazed.

Dutch white, being more upright in growth,' covered the ground very slowly, and when grazed the tips of the creeping stems, were frequently eaten off, causing a check to the plant. It is a larger clover than the other two. The stock neglected this clover, which came into flower quite early. • •

New Zealand wild white ■ gave a better germination than the others, and covered the ground rapidly. ' The stock grazed this plot closely. The indications are that New Zealand wild white provides a quicker and better ground-cover than either English wild white or Dutch white clover.

Paspalum and Subterranean Clover.— small plot was sown with a grass mixture including paspalum and subterranean clover in September last. The subterranean-clover plants were freely eaten by birds while in the cotyledon stage. The plants that survived spread rapidly, and this spring gave a good growth.- So far very little paspalum has shown up, and it would appear that the subterranean clover, Lotus major, and Lotus hispidus have smothered out many of the young paspalum-plants, which do not tolerate shade.

Cocksfoot Trials. — With a view to testing a selected strain of Danish cocksfoot against Akaroa cocksfoot an area was put down this spring in a mixture of English grasses and divided into six plots. On 'three of these the Danish strain was sown at the rate of 12 lb. per acre, and on the other three selected Akaroa seed at the same rate. The strike in both cases, owing to the late spring, has been fair only.

GENERAL.

As already indicated, owing to the depredations of small birds, the damage done by fungoid, insect, and other pests, and to the increase in weeds, such as twitches and sorrel (despite steady effort with hoe and cultivator), cropping at the Albany. Area is difficult and uncertain. Real experimental work is now not feasible, on account of previous differential treatments of the soil, which latter has largely been converted from the original gum-land clay of better quality to a fair clay loam. The work has therefore to be limited mainly to demonstration, and for this purpose grass mixtures are being made increasing use of.

Shearers’ Accommodation. lnspection duties under the Shearers’ Accommodation Act are now carried out by the Live-stock Division of the Department of Agriculture. Inspectors have already been able to bring about considerable improvements where necessary, and further work is in hand.