SWEDE VARIETY TRIALS IN CANTERBURY.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 42, Issue 4, 20 April 1931, Page 242

SWEDE VARIETY TRIALS IN CANTERBURY.

YIELD-CAPACITY AND DRY-MATTER CONTENT OF VILMORIN’S SWEDE.

Fields Division and Plant Research Station, Department of Agriculture.

Vilmorin’s White-fleshed Purple-top swede (referred to hereafter as Vilmorin’s) was introduced into .Taranaki by Mr. J. W. Deem in 1921, and grown .at the Stratford Demonstration Farm with good results. The following year 1 cwt. of the seed was secured by the Department of Agriculture and distributed in small quantities to farmers in various parts of New Zealand. In the Wanganui- district this swede has been a favourite ever since. The swede withstood insect attack and dry conditions better than the other more commonly grown varieties. ' -

Mr. F. E. Ward (then Instructor in Agriculture.- for Canterbury) carried out a preliminary trial with the Vilmorin swede in South Canterbury in the 1925-26 season. The results were sufficiently promising to warrant further trials, which were carried out in the two succeeding seasons (1926-27 and 1927-28) under the following method : One half of the drill or ridging-machine sowed Vilmorin seed, and the other •half sowed a standard variety, usually Superlative. • The sowingmachine was run up and down the field five to ten times, giving five to ten replications of each variety. Weighings were taken when the crops were mature. The results are tabulated below : —■

Average difference in favour of Vilmorin’s, 6-i tons per acre. The increase in every case is statistically significant.

In these trials the Vilmorin swede invariably produced a more vigorous top, less susceptible to attack by aphis and diamond-back moth. As a rule, the roots of the Vilmorin were rather more forked and deeper in the ground. This is a disadvantage where the roots are

pulled by hand, but when fed off by stock this feature is hot likely to matter. There were no marked differences in .the keeping-qualities of the swedes under trial. • - ' - ’

Dry-matter Content.

Mr. M. J. Scott and Mr. D. J. Sidey, Chemist and Assistant Chemist respectively at Canterbury Agricultural . College, Lincoln, carried out determinations of the dry-matter content of the varieties in Trials 3, 4, and 5 (Table 1). The varieties with which Vilmorin’s were compared were : Trial 3, Superlative ; Trial 4, Elephant; Trial 5, Superlative and Elephant. Roots were taken from Trials 3, 4, and 5 during June and July, and from Trials 3 and 4 on 10th August and 1st September, respectively. •. Ten large, ten medium, and ten small-sized roots were sampled on each occasion, except from Trial 5 on 1st September, when only three large and three medium-sized roots were sampled. A report furnished by Messrs. Scott and Sidey is summarized as follows :—

“ The average dry-matter content'" of swedes pulled in June and July are .shown in the following table : —

“ The results were submitted to statistical examination. The difference of 0-83 per cent, of dry matter in favour of Vilmorin’s in the large roots is significant, and represents n per cent, more dry matter than is contained in the other varieties. The differences in medium and small-size Vilmorin’s and the corresponding sizes of the other varieties are not significant.

“ The average dry-matter content of swedes pulled in August and September are shown in Table 3.

“ The differences of 1-2 and 1-3 per cent, in the dry matter in favour of Vilmorin’s large and medium sizes in Trial 3 are significant,

and represent about 14 per cent, more dry matter than is contained in the other varieties. The difference between Vilmorin’s and the other variety in Trial 4 is not significant.”

Conclusions.

In districts where swedes are grown ‘ in ' Canterbury it is obvious that Vilmorin’s White-fleshed Purple-top variety is worth trying. It has given consistently higher yields than , the varieties with which it has been compared, and in some cases has produced roots with a higher dry-matter content than these varieties. Its only disadvantage where the crop is-pulled is its tendency to “ fangy” and deep rooting.

Note.Mr. R. .McGillivray (this Journal, July, 1927, p. 47, and August, 1928, p. 122) has also reported on trials of Vilmorin’s swede at Gore , Experimental Area, in which this variety outyielded others under test. . . . -

Thanks are due to the farmers who co-operated in these trials, and to Messrs. Scott and Sidey for their valuable assistance in carrying out the (dry-matter determinations. L .

A. W. Hudson,

Crop Experimentalist, Plant Research Station.

. * Two samples were taken from each root, giving twelve samples for analysis.

Name of Farmer and Location. Season of Trial. Yields in Tons per Acre. Difference in favour of ' Vilmorin’s. Vilmorin’s. Standard Variety. (I) J. Carr, Meth ven 1926-27 20-6 14'7 5'9 (2) R. J. Low, Highbank 1926-27 22'7 15’0 7.7 (3) R. J. Low, Highbank 1927-28 22'4 18-4 • 4-0 (4) G. E. Benny, Southbridge 1927-28 48-3 42-6 ' 5’7 ' (5) W. and A. Campion, Prebbleton ' 1927-28 38-4 . 34-4 4-0 (6) K. Murchison, Kirwee 1927-28 18-6 I5-I 3’5 (7) W. Barnett, Morven 1927-28 28-4 21-4 7-0 (8) E. Stokes, Morven : 1927-28 48-4 . 38-3 IO-I (9) J. H. Milne, Waihao Downs 1927-28 32-3 25-8 . 6’5 (io R. Sinclair, Morven .. 1927-28 32-3 25-8 6’5

Table 1.—Yields of Vilmorin’s Swede compared with Yields of Standard- Variety. (In most cases the standard variety was Superlative. Yields include weight of roots plus tops.)

Size of Roots. .... Vilmorin’s.. . ' . . Other. Varieties. Number of Roots sampled. Percentage of Dry Matter. Number of Roots Sampled. Percentage of Dry Matter. Large . . . . ' . . 29 8-35 37 7-52 Medium . . . .. . . ' 30 8-68 38 8-55 Small . . - . . . . 28 10-44 37 io-66

Table 2.- Average Percentages of Dry Matter in Roots pulled in June and July.

Size of Roots. Trial Number in Table I. Vilmorin’s. Other Varieties. Number of Roots Sampled. Percentage of Dry • Matter. Number of Roots Sampled. Percentage of Dry Matter. Large .. .. ■ 3 IO IO-I IO 8-9 Medium . . • . . 3 9. IO-2 IO 8-9 Small . . .... 3 IO io-8 . Large and medium mixed . . 4 6* io-6 6 io-5

Table 3. —Average Percentages of Dry Matter in Roots pulled in August and September.