Pasture Improvement by Crop Rotation On West Coast Farms

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 60, Issue 1, 15 January 1940, Page 43

Pasture Improvement by Crop Rotation On West Coast Farms

Pressing Need for Introduction Of Ordered Routine

A. D. MERCER,

Fields Instructor. Greymouth

ONE of the most pressing needs on West Coast (South Island) farms, today is the introduction of some system into farming practice. The haphazard methods of the past are proving inadequate to present-day conditions, and the successful farmer is the one who works year by year to a definite, ordered routine. In older countries a system of crop rotations has been evolved, varying from district to district according to local requirements and conditions of soil and climate. > These rotations are the result of centuries of experience, and any departure from them is not lightly undertaken. The general attitude is well expressed by A. G. Street in “Farmers’ Glory,” referring to the Wiltshire four- —“ This rotation was as unalterable as the laws of the Medes and Persians. One always knew what crop a particular field would be growing two or three years ahead, and worked to that end. Any slight variation was considered a sin, and like sin,

it always left its mark. For instance, if one were tempted to harvest for seed a piece of vetches or clover, the extra robbing of the ground showed in the ensuing wheat crop. It mattered not a whit that the produce of this immoral seeding might bring in more money than a good crop of wheat. One didn’t farm for cash profits, but did one’s duty by the land.”

To advocate neglect of cash considerations to West Coast farmers would be. of course, quite impracticable, but there should be a more general realisation of the eventual monetary benefit to be derived from farming in accordance with the principles of good husbandry. Advantages of Rotation The advantages of a definite rotation may be stated as follows: — (1) Healthier and more vigorous crops. Repeated growing of one crop leads to loss of vigour and insect and fungous disease. (2) Distribution of labour over the year in cultivating and sowing. (3) Economy of soil fertility. Different crops make varying demands on the essential plant foods. Some plants are deep rooted; others are shallow and draw their requirements from different depths of soil. (4) Leguminous crops, such as clovers, tares, and lupins, restore fertil-

ity by adding to the nitrogen content of the soil. (5) A variety of feed is available for stock at all seasons of the year. (6) The growing of root crops enables the land to be cleared of weeds periodically, while certain catch crops help to smother them. The high rainfall experienced on the West Coast renders the district quite unfitted for the adoption on a large scale of arable farming. It is essentially a grassland country, but it is most important to realise that . the plough is the foundation of good permanent pasture. Topdressing with lime and phosphates has brought about wonderful improvements on inferior pastures, ' but large areas are carrying such; a poor sward that it is doubtful whether it is an economic proposition to topdress until good grasses which will respond to .treatment .in such a way as to give a profitable return on the money invested in lime and phosphates can be introduced. , There , is a prejudice in some quarters against ploughing up and re-sow-ing,' due chiefly to the failure in some cases to obtain a good “take” of grasses on newly-ploughed land. - ' - Permanent Pasture It should be obvious that good grass establishment could never be expected under such conditions. When virgin country is turned over for the first time and the ploughing, because of the nature of the country, is generally rather a rough job, a good “take” of grass is hardly to be expected by following this up with two cuts with the discs - and then sowing down. Perma-nent-pastures is the most 'important crop on the farm, and grass seed needs the cleanest, finest, and best-worked seed bed of all. One ploughing and a stroke with the discs is, as a general rule, a totally inadequate preparation. - The accompanying illustrations demonstrate this clearly. The whole paddock was ploughed, ' cultivated, and sown at the same time, but the half shown in Fig. il-- (how disfigured arid reduced in carrying . capacity by - a dense . growth of • rushes) had only the one ploughing. The other half, shown in Fig. 2, and carrying a clean, dense sward, i had also been ploughed and cultivated the previous year for turnips. The benefit of the extra cultivation is most outstanding. Best Preparation - --- ' ... As. a thorough working of the ground over a period of . several years is . the

best preparation for successful establishment of, first-class pasture, it becomes necessary to consider what crop should occupy the ground over that period. A sound farming principle is that more feed can be produced on an acre of arable . land than on an- acre of grassland, enabling more stock to be carried, so that although in this district climatic and labour conditions render any large-scale adoption of arable farming impracticable, the farmer who can bring only a small area under the plough at one . time is increasing his stock carrying capacity and at the same time bringing his land into a fit condition for sowing to a good permanent pasture. In the first year the area decided on might be ploughed in the summer and / worked down for autumn-sown oats and tares. On old run-out pasture, provided it were clear and level enough, it would be an added advantage if the paddock could be skim ploughed first to a depth of lin. and worked with the discs before ploughing. : To ■ have the surface partially worked before turning it under is very much better farming practice than to plough in a thick impervious mat of old grass roots, weeds, and moss. An autumn-sown crop - of two bushels of oats and one bushel of tares should provide a great bulk of feed in the spring either for feeding off or for ensilage. Four Crops As soon as this crop is off the ground could be prepared for rape or turnips to provide autumn • feed, sowing at the same time a ? seed mixture ; of Italian ryegrass and red clover to be left down for two years, and . providing a good crop for hay and grazing. After the second hay cut or spring grazing the area should be ploughed and well

worked through the summer preparatory to sowing with a permanent grass seed mixture in the autumn on a fine, well-consolidated seed bed. It is not necessary to sow with a so-called nurse crop; in fact, in a grassland district such as this the cereal nurse crop is definitely undesirable, and in many cases is responsible for a high percentage of weeds in the young pasture. Thus, in a period of three years the land has produced four, crops if silage and hay are made, in addition to the aftermath grazing. Tw'o objectives have been —increase of the stock carrying capacity of the farm, and favourable soil conditions for .the establishment of a high-producing permanent pasture. Some such system as this can be applied to large or small areas, to one paddock at a time, or to three simultaneously, in which case they would each be at a different stage of the rotation in any given year. The rotation suggested is not necessarily the final word on . the matter. It is put forward as . a - tentative plan open to modification and improvement according to individual requirements. Important Point The important point is that each farmer should decide for himself the acreage of arable ground that he can handle each year, bearing in mind the fact that it is better to do 10 acres thoroughly than to attempt 15 or 20 and - scamp the job. A simple course of . cropping must be decided on and developed into an ordered routine which . will meet individual requirements in stock feed, prepare the land for permanent pasture, and be in accord : with the principles of good husbandry. A further' article will deal' with manuring and seeding.

Potato Crop Suffers from Grass Grub

On a light loam soil at Belfast a potato crop suffered severely from grass grub injury, last season. The farmer in question rejected nearly 20 per cent, of his crop as pig potatoes on account of the damage done. Odd roots dug 'showed that a large number of these grubs were present in the > soil, while on examination the pitted sur- .

faces of affected tubers revealed the presence of grass grubs in the eatenout cavities. Further evidence in support of the damage being due to grassgrub attack was obtained when some of these grubs were put in a tin containing potatoes. Some time later freshlyeaten patches on the surfaces of these tubers could be plainly seen.

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