SEASONAL NOTES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3, 20 March 1928, Page 204

SEASONAL NOTES.

THE FARM. AUTUMN- AND WINTER-SOWN CEREALS. ' -' ' In the South Island the . period for sowing autumn and winter cereals extends from the end of April to about the middle of June. ' Oats are usually sown from the end of April to the end of May, and wheat during May and the early part, of t June. Sowing in July is generally avoided. Spring sowing takes place in August and September,'the cereal usually following turnips fed off in the. winter. The extended period in which cereals are sown allows an even distribution of team labour over the autumn,win ter, ...and spring months ; it extends the period of harvesting from early January to the end of February, and thus allows the crops to be harvested without any undue rush. Also, the autumn-sown cereals provide valuable feed in the' spring for breeding-ewes, after the turnips are finished and before the spring growth of grass starts. In the North Island and the far south of the South Island cereals are generally spring-sown ; in both areas the cereal crop usually follows turnips. In . the North Island autumn-sown cereals generally run too much to straw, are liable to rust, and, ripening early, they require harvesting during the haymaking - period, which congests the farm-work at that time. In the far south the low winter temperatures render it inadvisable to sow in- the autumn. Wheat. The main wheat-growing areas of New Zealand are situated on the plains and rolling downs of Canterbury and North Otago. The soils best suited to the growth of wheat are those of the heavier description, such as well-drained clay soils. The average -growing soil, of Canterbury is a good, free-working loam overlying a clay subsoil, but the best yields are usually obtained from the leavy loams. Place in 'rotation : Autumn- and winter-sown wheat can be taken after grass or clover, rape, cereal, peas, potatoes, and linseed. The crop usually does best after clover or rape ; if taken after grass the land should be skimmed early to allow the sod to rot before the wheat is sown. Good crops are often obtained after potatoes, provided sowing is not unduly late. Wheat is often taken after wheat or oats, with quite good results on strong land, but the second crop should be well manured. ■ ' .

Cultivation : Wheat requires a fine, firm seed-bed fine soil at the bottom and the clods at the top. Small lumps on the surface of a field of autumn-sown wheat are no disadvantage ; the clods break down in the winter and provide a loose surface, preventing the land from caking hard in the early spring. Grassland intended for wheat should be skim-ploughed any time between the end of November and the middle of March. ' After lying for - about six weeks the surface should be disked and the land cross-ploughed 6in. or yin. deep. The surface can then be levelled with the harrows, and the final tilth given

with the disks and harrows. The cultivator should not be . used, as it is inclined to drag any undecayed vegetation to the surface. The two ploughings of grassland for wheat are very necessary, in order to allow the vegetation to decay and to obtain a fine, firm seed-bed. Early skim-ploughing gives virtually a summer fallow, and allows the land to absorb the autumn rains. Land after peas, rape, linseed, or a cereal can be worked down after ploughing with the harrows, disks, and cultivator. The cultivator is a necessary implement when the land is cloddy, as it brings the clods to the surface and shakes the fine soil to the. bottom, thus making a good seed-bed for the crop. Care should be exercised in . the use of the roller on wheat-land for breaking clods, as it is liable'to consolidate the surface and cause it to set. If the roller is used it should be followed with' the cultivator to -loosen the surface again. ,

Manuring: The crop should be. manured with i cwt. of superphosphate or basic super. Although recent experiments have shown that this quantity of .fertilizer will give increased yields of up to 4 or 5 bushels per acre, a very large area of wheat is, unfortunately, annually sown without any manure.

Varieties : The common varieties of wheat sown in New Zealand wheat-growing areas are Solid-straw Tuscan, Hunter’s,, and Velvet Chaff Pearl. Solid-straw Tuscan is the best, wheat for windy districts, as the straw is filled with pith and is very rigid, so that it does not thresh about in the wind. Hunter’s is a popular variety for medium wheat-growing soils : it yields well, produces a large amount of green feed,' and can be fed off fairly close. Velvet Chaff Pearl is a .wheat of very high milling-quality, but is only grown on medium land of even quality where the whole crop will ripen at once, as the grain is loose in the chaff and liable to shake. . . ■ .

Seeding : For autumn and winter sowing the seeding varies from i| -to . i bushels. The seed should be pickled for stinking - smut before sowing. The common practice is to use the formalin pickle on the farms, but a good deal of seed is now treated in bulk with copper carbonate. The latter method consists in dry-dusting very finely divided copper carbonate on to the wheat at the rate of 2 oz. per bushel. As the powder is poisonous if breathed in quantity, the dusting is usually done in a closed rotating cylinder. The advantages of this method are that large quantities of seed can be treated by machinery at seed-cleaning plants, the seed may be treated any time before sowing, and the germination is in no way injured. . Drainage : Wheat' will not stand flooding to any extent in the winter-time. Any hollows in the wheatfields should have surface drains made from them to carry off any standing water that may collect after rain. Oats and Barley. Autumn oats usually follow a cereal or an early fed-off fodder crop. The seed-bed requirements are similar to those already mentioned for the wheat crop. Algerians for chaff and Gartons for grain are the common varieties sown in the autumn. Both varieties produce very palatable green feed in the spring; Algerians can be fed off with the greatest severity, but Gartons - should be quickly eaten down once and then left alone. The autumn seeding is i-l to 2 bushels, and the

crop, especially if taken on stubble land, should receive I cwt. per acre of super or basic super.

On North Island dairy farms oats are sometimes grown as a catchcrop for spring green feed. This season root crops have either failed altogether or have only done moderately well, and feed will probably be scarce in the winter and early spring. Any vacant land could with advantage be sown in Algerian oats for spring feeding, and the crop followed with root and forage crops later in the year. Although the yield of green oats is not particularly high, the crop is of very high feeding-value and is excellent for milk-production. For green feed sow 2 bushels of Algerian oats with 2 cwt. of super per acre. Barley is sometimes used . for spring green feed, but it .does not yield as well as oats, nor is it as palatable ; barley if fed when running up to seed causes digestive troubles in cows, and cows are frequently poisoned feeding off partly matured barley. Barley for malting is sometimes sown in the autumn, but care must be taken that the land selected is perfectly dry in the winter, as barley is killed out if the land is subject to winter flooding. TOP-DRESSING OF PASTURES. Top-dressing in April and May increases the winter growth of grass. This year pastures in most dairying districts have suffered severely during the dry weather, and will require careful handling to get them back into good condition.’ Bare spaces in pastures, unless they can be covered with a clover growth, will eventually grow weeds, and the sooner the top-dressing is put on the better chance white clover has of gaining supremacy. White clover shades the surface of the ground and allows the stunted grass-plants to root again and start growth. Superphosphate is the best fertilizer for autumn top-dressing, as it is quick in action and forces the grass and clover along while the soilconditions are still suitable for growth. The quantity to be applied depends on whether the pastures are top-dressed once or twice a year. If only once, then 3 cwt. should be applied ; but if twice, 2 cwt. in the autumn and 2 cwt. again in the spring are the usual quantities. Autumn is the best period for dealing with top-dressing work on hill country, as it allows the best use to be made of fine weather. Later, when the hills become wet and slippery, great difficulty is often experienced in getting the material on to the ground, and the cost of applying is materially increased. . '

—P. W. Small field,

B.Ag., Instructor in Agriculture, Ruakura.