SEASONAL NOTES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1, 20 January 1927, Page 45

SEASONAL NOTES.

THE FARM. TILLAGE OPERATIONS. The preparation of land for autumn sowing of grass and for catchcroppingas dealt with in last month's notes —may be continued during February. When selecting the area to be sown down to grass one should avoid, if possible, land which has just produced a grain crop. This is of particular importance in parts of Canterbury this season, where the ravage of the grass-grub in the wheat crops has been evident. It is best *to follow up with grass after some fed-off crop such as rape. Where cereals are to be autumn-sown in graingrowing districts the land selected —either stubble or —should be skim-ploughed as early as possible. The intercultivation of root crops should be continued unless the crop is too far advanced and it is impossible to get through without damage. An extra cultivation often means all the difference between a light yield and a heavy crop of roots. Potatoes will receive their final intercultivation, but if large-growing weeds tend to get away in the crop after this operation is finished it will be advisable to remove them as far as possible by hand. Keep the team busy on summerfallowed land ; it will take all the sunshine available to kill out any twitch. SOWING OF SECONDARY BURNS. Should favourable weather conditions prevail during the next few weeks occupiers of unploughable bush land will have a chance to clean areas that have reverted to fern and second growth. Indiscriminate patch-burning is not to be recommended, but if a little money can be spent much can be done in a dry autumn. Where the fern is not too thick, and there is still a fair proportion of grass existing, top-dressing may be all that is required, provided that the grazing can be effectively controlled. Land that has completely reverted, however, must be resown as well as top-dressed. Bracken fern is not difficult to burn, provided a suitable wind is utilized, but hard fern should only be burnt in a really dry season, otherwise the roots will not be completely destroyed and a ring of fresh growth will spring up. Water-fern is the hardest of all to burn, and is best checked by logging-up, coupled with top-dressing and heavy stocking with cattle. Wineberry is best cut in December and January, and manuka a little earlier. Heavy sowing is not necessary for successful regrassing— fact, it is a waste of money to spend much on seed of the better grasses which have already shown that they find the conditions too severe. Cocksfoot in particular is most unsatisfactory for resowing, though a certain number of suppressed plants will survive the fire and show up when the manure takes effect. Rye-grass should be used only to throw early feed. Experience has shown that brown-top and crested dogstail are two of the best species for this work. ■ Danthonia should be included in nearly all cases, also paspalum in localities within

its successful range. Paspalum, however, should not be sown after the first week in March. . A good general mixture would be as follows : Perennial rye-grass, 7 lb. ; crested dogstail, 2 lb.; brown-top, ijlb.; Danthonia pilosa, 2 Ib. ; Lotus major, | lb. ; Colonial white clover, lib.; suckling-clover, Jib. ; subterranean clover, J lb. : total, 15 lb. per acre. On the better classes of land a little Poa pratensis and cocksfoot may be added ; in shady situations the brown-top and Lotus major should be increased at the expense of the danthonia and dogstail. The cost of the mixture specified at current prices is about £1 2s. per acre. Manure should always be applied after the seed if possible, even if for financial reasons the dressing is a light one. Reversion to fern and second growth is a sign of-depletion of fertility in the surface soil, and the ash of the burn is insufficient to make good this deficiency. Hence the young grass must be helped if it is to compete successfully with the fern. Super is generally the best for the purpose, though it is as well to add a little lime. BREAKING IN VIRGIN FERN COUNTRY. There are —in Auckland Province especiallymany thousands of acres of ploughable fern land still awaiting reclamation. The soil of these Auckland areas consists for the most part of a friable loam of a semivolcanic or pumiceous nature. Where this soil is of a fair depth, as is usually indicated by the vigour of the fern, it can be brought into productivity at a moderate cost, provided that the settler is prepared to use the right methods and to undertake no greater acreage than he can manure regularly. It is a mistake to attempt the immediate conversion of this land to permanent pasture, either by surface-sowing or by ploughing. It first requires sweetening, fertilizing, and consolidating. This is best done by means of temporary pastures consisting mainly of clover and helped by generous top-dressing. About February the standing fern should be burnt and the land disked thoroughly. Disking is better than ploughing, because it does not bring up raw soil, and it leaves the land fairly solid. After the harrows have been used to level off the surface, sowing should be done with a mixture approximating to the following: Italian rye-grass, 10 lb. ; perennial rye-grass, 8 lb. ; cow-grass, 5 lb. ; white clover, 1 lb. ; English trefoil, J lb. ; subterranean clover, J lb. ; soft turnips, Jib. : total, 25J lb. per acre (costing about £1 per acre). If possible the land should be rolled before sowing, otherwise the necessary consolidation may be obtained with sheep. The following manure is suitable for application with the seed: Super, 2 cwt. ; bonedust, J cwt. ; lime, icwt., per acre. Subsequently the land should be top-dressed regularly, preferably with super and lime. The feed so obtained will hardly be first-class dairying pasture, but it will be both early and abundant. As far as possible it should be stocked with heavy cattle in order to obtain as much consolidation as possible. -

At the end of two or three years this temporary pasture will begin to open out at the bottom. It should then be ploughed and resown with a permanent mixture after one or possibly two crops of turnips have been taken. ' ,

LUCERNE.

■ February and the early part of March is a good time for cleaning up and renovating lucerne stands, as the fine weather then usually prevailing enables the destruction of grass, weeds, &c. The work is best carried out by means of a cultivator fitted with proper lucerne teeth. If the land has set hard or the field is badly infested with grass it may be necessary to go over it once or twice with disks set almost straight to break the surface and cut the sods, and follow this with the cultivator. If the land is extremely hard it is better to wait until there has been sufficient rain to soften the surface. Young lucerne crops sown in December should be ready for their first cut about the middle of February. It is very important that this cut be delayed as long as possible, and unless the stand is being smothered with weeds it should be deferred until the new growth is coming away strongly from the crowns. About this time a large proportion of the plants should be showing flowers. Immediately after this cut the area should be given a light cultivation, either with the tine harrows or a very light cultivator, to loosen the surface of the land. In Marlborough many lucerne and clover stands are cut for seed in February. Material should be thoroughly dry before being stacked —much drier than for hay. In a season like the present one much better seed will be obtained by keeping the stuff in stack for a month or more before shelling than by shelling out of the paddock or immediately after stacking. ‘ —Fields Division.

THE ORCHARD.

SPRAYING. The current period’s spraying for the control of codlin-moth is a necessary spray, and should not be omitted by growers. All infected fruits should be gathered and immediately destroyed. Where powdery mildew is in evidence the trees should again be thoroughly sprayed with precipitated sulphur (io lb. to 12 lb. per 100 ' gallons). An examination of the trees should be made for red mite and apple-leaf-hopper infection, and where either of these pests is discovered a control spray should be applied to kill the insects before they have an opportunity of laying overwintering eggs. Where black-spot of apple and pear has been troublesome, a close inspection of the fruit and foliage should now be regularly made until the fruit is gathered, in order to detect the infection when it first appears. The first evidence of the disease should be regarded as the danger-signal, and, where conditions permit, the infected varieties should be sprayed immediately to prevent infection or blemish. Brown - rot - infected fruits and mummies should be carefully gathered and destroyed, as the mummies are a source by which brown-rot infection is carried over to subsequent seasons. ■ . Detailed advice as to the sprays to apply will be found in the September Journal notes. • • ’ > . ■

SPRAY RESIDUE.

In connection with spraying, prospective shippers will have to consider the matter of spray residue on fruit intended for export. It is very necessary to avoid having an excess of residue on the fruit, and to this end growers are advised to, carefully consider the sprays and their ingredients which they intend to apply at the last spraying prior to picking. It is advisable in this respect to omit the spreader, to avoid any excess of lime which it has been the custom to add to any . mixture, and to omit Black Leaf 40 from the lime-sulphur and arsenate-of-lead combination. Growers who have had occasion to wipe the residue from their fruit before wrapping will appreciate the benefit to be obtained by eliminating or reducing from late sprays the quantity of certain ingredients which usually cause an objectionable marking or stain. CULTIVATION. Cultivation should be continued during the present month in order to destroy weeds and to stir the soil, also to conserve the soil-moisture, as the trees are usually in most need of moisture at this period in the growth of the fruit. In working the ground it is important that the implement used should not go so deeply into the soil as to disturb the fine white root-hairs through which the trees feed, or to expose them to the sun and the atmosphere. COVER-CROPS. An important matter in connection with the management of the orchard at this period of the year is the sowing of a cover-crop.. In many of our soils it has been demonstrated that the addition of organic matter is very beneficial. Amongst the benefits to be derived from the use of cover-crops are the following : (1) Improvement of the physical condition of the soil and subsoil; (2) addition of organic matter to soil; (3) leguminous crops add nitrogen to the soil ; (4) cover-crops in general use up soluble plant-foods, and thus prevent their loss by being washed out by autumn and winter rains ; (5) they tend to cause fruit and growth to ripen earlier than is the case where cover-crops are not used ; (6) they prevent erosion on steep slopes. The most satisfactory and cheapest method of supplying humus to the soil is by growing such green crops as blue lupins (40 lb. to 50 lb. per acre) ; oats and vetches (oats 11 bushels, vetches 1 bushel, per acre) ; Canadian field-peas (60 lb. per acre) ; mustard (sown broadcast, 6 lb. to 81b. per acre) ; Cape barley (1 bushel per acre). In considering the crop to be sown it should be remembered that such leguminous crops as lupins, peas, and vetches supply in addition to organic matter a considerable amount of nitrogen. To obtain the maximum results it is advisable to sow a fertilizer with the crop — superphosphate at the rate of 2 cwt. per acre. BUDDING. The latter part of January and early February is a good time for doing this work. Select the buds from well-developed shoots of the present season’s growth, and from trees which have borne regularly good crops of fruit of the best quality. Where old trees are being reworked buds should be’inserted on the outer side of the stock to

be worked, as this will result in a more open head and a better-shaped tree than if worked on . the inner side of the shoots. Details as to budding were given in last month's notes. PICKING. The picking of the fruit was dealt with in the November Journal notes to some extent. In picking all kinds of . fruit it is important that it should be perfectly dry, especially if it is intended to store it for some time. Picking should not be commenced in the morning until the dew has left the fruit. The harvesting of the apple and pear crop will now have begun. Apples should be gathered immediately they become ripe— not fully ripe. When left too long on the trees they are apt after a period of storage to become mealy and lose flavour. The period for which fully ripe fruit may be held for market purposes is very short. If picked too soon the fruit will be poor in quality and flavour, and will wilt and shrivel in storage. Late varieties of apples are usually picked when fully mature and when the deep-green ground colour is assuming a yellowish tone. As these varieties ripen slowly, several months usually elapse before they are eating-ripe. The proper degree of maturity may be gauged in varous ways, and it. is not advisable to rely solely on any one of the following indications of ripeness when determining whether the fruit is ready to pick : (i) The fruits should have the necessary amount of red colour usually associated with the variety, and according to the position of the fruit on the tree ; (2) distinct change of ground colour towards light yellow—the hard green colour should have gone ; (3) ease with which stem parts from the spur. Some pickers rely mainly on the good brown colour of the seeds as an indication of ripeness, but this way is unreliable for some varieties. Sturmer, for instance, is under certain conditions still immature when the pips are quite brown. Apples should be picked with stems intact. Pears are somewhat peculiar in their manner of ripening, and to develop the best quality the fruit should be gathered when it is green but matured. If left to become too ripe on the trees some varieties develop gritty granules in the flesh, while others rot at the core and generally do not develop the luscious and finest flavours possessed by fruits gathered . from the tree before they are ripe. Pears should also be picked with stems intact. Quinces should be fully ripe before they are gathered. Care should be taken not to break off more fruit-spurs than can possibly be avoided, as the spurs are required for the production of subsequent crops. Pickers should be instructed to place the thumb beside the joint between the stem of the fruit and the spur and then bend the fruit sharply towards the thumb ; if the fruit is sufficiently mature the stem will readily part from the spur. Fruit damaged through the pulling-out of the stem soon commences to decay. Fruit generally does not ripen evenly on the individual trees, and to obtain the best results three or four pickings should be made. The smaller fruit and that low down on the tree should generally be gathered at the last picking. It is well to remember that there is a considerable variation in the ripening of- the different varieties and of the same varieties under different conditions, and to obtain the best results a careful study should be made by growers.

EXPORT OF FRUIT. It is important and in the. best interests of every grower that only the best fruit should be sent away. The fruit should neither be too green nor too ripe. The best time generally to pick for export is when the dark-green ground colour changes towards a light yellow, and when the stem will part from the spur. The fruit should be well graded as to colour, size, and blemish. The wrapping, labelling, and stamping should be neatly done, and the cases packed full and sufficiently tight to prevent looseness developing in the handling and storage. Much damage is occasioned to fruit ' through very tight packing. Every care should be used to prevent bruising. Throughout all the handlings the fruit receives, everything possible should be done to cause it to open up in such condition that it will more than favourably compare with the fruit of our competitors on the markets of the United Kingdom and elsewhere. FRUIT FOR IDENTIFICATION. From time to time specimens of fruit are submitted for naming without any description of the habit or growth of the trees, or any particulars whatever. It is advisable that the specimens should be accompanied by a description of the tree, when the fruit ripens, the name (if any) by which it is locally known, and any other information which would be of assistance in determining the proper name. At least three typical specimens, with stems attached, should be forwarded. — W..K. Dallas, Orchard Instructor, Dunedin. Citrus-culture. Continued cultivation will still be the main work in the citrus grove. With the heavy rainfall experienced this season root-action near the surface will be very pronounced, and unless the land is constantly cultivated the surface soil may become a mass of roots which will be badly parched during the drier season to come. With the surface soil well tilled, however, roots will be maintained at a level where more equable moisture may be expected. Should dry weather set in some mulch will be required. Stable manure is to be preferred, but hay, straw, or any available litter will serve the purpose. Take care not to pile any material round the trunk of the tree, as barkinjury may be caused by such contact. The rapid growth made this season under very humid conditions will result in wood-growth of a very soft nature and in excess of the amount required to properly build or furnish the tree. Much benefit will be derived from the suppression of undesirable growth, in order that the wood really required may be better matured and more stable. Humid conditions suitable for the spread of verrucosis and grey scab will necessitate a further spray of bordeaux, 3-4-40, if the advancing crop is to be maintained clean.

—W. H. Rice,

Orchard Instructor, Auckland