SEASONAL NOTES.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4, 20 April 1928, Page 279

SEASONAL NOTES.

THE FARM. WINTER FALLOWING. The term “ fallow ” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “ fealu,” meaning yellowish-brown, and refers to ploughed ground left in an uncropped state. In medieval times the soil-fertility of arable land was maintained at a constant but rather low level chiefly by means of a summer and winter fallow. The arable land was divided into three fields, and the usual rotation was—winter wheat ;■ barley, oats, or spring wheat; fallow. The summer fallow was the nitrateaccumulating one, while the winter fallow accumulated potash and phosphates. In modern agriculture, through the adoption of complete rotations and the use of artificial fertilizers, the summer and winter fallows have lost much of their importance as a means of making available plant-food in the soil. The fallows, however, are still of considerable importance as a means of regulating the amount of moisture held in the soil for-.the use of crops.

The practice of winter fallowing in New Zealand is chiefly confined to heavy land in. sub-humid arable farming districts, when spring- and summer - sown root and forage crops follow a cereal. The land is ploughed in the late autumn or early winter and left in the unbroken furrow slices, so that the weathering agencies may have free play in breaking up clods, and in order to allow the winter rains to quickly pass through the top soil and enter the subsoil instead of running off the surface.

Root crops require enormous quantities of water. A 30-ton crop of mangolds, for instance, consumes about 1,500 tons; an’ inch of rain amounts to' 100 tons per acre, so that at the yield stated 15 in. of rain would be required. The rainfall over a large part of the arable farming districts of Canterbury is about 25 in., and the normal rainfall from October to April is 14 in., which is insufficient for the crop, as only about one-third of the summer rains percolate through the soil, the rest being lost by evaporation. The root crops must thus draw upon the reserves of water.held in the soil and subsoil. The months during which a large proportion of the rainfall may be stored in the subsoil are May to September, so that late autumn and early winter ploughing is essential for the production of good root crops. During' May and June the teams on arable mixed farms are generally busy sowing winter wheat, but there are often periods when land can be ploughed, although the weather conditions are not suitable for cultivation work, and it is during these periods that heavy stubble land intended for root and forage crops should be ploughed if possible. In the North Island root and forage crops usually follow grass, and

the winter fallowing of grassland requires careful consideration. When grassland is ploughed in the autumn a skimmer attachment should be used on the plough, to turn part of the furrow slice to the bottom and so prevent grass growing between the furrow slices during the wet winter months. The winter fallowing of grassland containing twitch

is often disastrous ; in many parts of the North Island pastures contain a good deal of brown-top, red-top, and Poa pratensis, and although these grasses may not be very noticeable in an old pasture before it is broken up they are rejuvenated by the ploughing, and grow vigorously during the winter when the land cannot be touched owing to wet weather. On light, land red-top will often take possession of fallow ground in the winter, and brown-top often does the same on heavy land. Land on which these grasses are likely to be troublesome should never be. winter-fallowed by skim-ploughing the grass in the autumn or early winter, but should be ploughed in August with a skimmer attachment on the plough, and kept worked up during the spring until the crop is sown.

WINTER FEEDING OF YOUNG STOCK.

The first winter is a critical period in the life of dairy cattle, and their subsequent development depends very largely on the feeding during this period. Calves should be the first stock on dairy farms to be given a ration of hay in the early winter. It is essential to get them used to hay and root feeding before the grass-growth seriously declines, because it is usually some time before calves will eat much hay, and if its feeding is left too late the animals often lose condition, which they will not pick up again. Besides adequate food, the calves should get an ample supply of pure water ; dirty drinking - holes in drains are liable to lead to the young animals becoming affected with internal parasites. *

Lambs to be kept over the winter should be well fed after weaning, so as to have them in good condition to stand the winter. Lambs affected with internal parasites should be drenched or given wormtablets, kept on dry ground, and given frequent ' changes of pasture. In mixed-farming districts hoggets are frequently wintered on turnips, and care should be taken to see that they are doing well. At one year old the two centre milk-teeth are replaced by permanent teeth, and before this occurs the two milk-teeth • become loose, the gums, swollen, and the animal often has difficulty in eating the turnips properly. For this reason hoggets should be the first on the turnips, being thus allowed to graze the tops off. They are then followed by'the fattening sheep, which clean up the tops of the bulbs, and they in turn are followed by the breeding-ewes after the shells have been lifted by the grubber. The hoggets in the meantime are placed on a fresh break of tops. .

THE MANGOLD CROP.

A start should be made in pulling the mangold crop some time in May. Before feeding, the roots should be lifted and heaped to ripen. If fed while still growing or in an unripened state mangolds are liable to cause scouring, and many cases of tympany and abortion have occurred through feeding them green. • When the crop is lifted the tops should be pulled off and left in the field, as c ,they are of poor feeding-value, though they contain a considerable amount of fertilizing ingredients. The tops from an average crop of mangolds contain as much fertilizer as is contained in 4 cwt. to 5 cwt. of dried blood, i| cwt. of sulphate of potash, and 1 cwt. ofcsuperphosphate. In pulling mangolds care should be taken not to-.’break the roots, or they will bleed.

The roots are preferably stored in a long heap under trees ; if in the open, the top of the heap should be covered with straw to keep the frost off.

—P. W. Smallfield,

B.Ag., Instructor in Agriculture, Ruakura.