Wheat in the Rangitikei Tainui Is Considered Worthy of a Trial

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 61, Issue 3, 16 September 1940, Page 197

Wheat in the Rangitikei Tainui Is Considered Worthy of a Trial

| In common with other North = Island districts, the Rangitikei = has experienced a revival of | interest in wheat growing. This | article describes several varieties, and while Jumbuck is popular as the standard one, it is considered that E Tainui is worthy of a trial, as : it has received very favourable = comment from local growers i who have grown it on a field : scale in comparison with i Jumbuck. " '

By

A. R. DINGWALL.

Instructor in Agriculture, Wanganui.

UNDER the stimulus of wartime necessity a revival of interest in the growing of wheat has become evident in those North Island districts where formerly this crop figured much more prominently than it does today, and it would seem that the rapid and substantial decline in wheat acreage

which had been continuing since 1934 and was especially marked in the West Coast areas has now been successfully arrested. This decline in wheat growing in the Rangitikei district may be largely attributed to the increasing popularity of fat lamb production as being a more dependable and profit-

able source of farming income than the growing of grain. District Conditions Success with such crops is largely dependent upon general soil and seasonal climatic conditions of the district concerned, and the wheat belt of the Rangitikei is characterised by somewhat heavy, rich loam soils, retentive of water, and by winter climatic conditions that are often, prolonged. With the soil apt to lie wet in the winter and well into early spring, winter sowing is generally precluded and spring sowings often delayed until mid-October. Such late sowings lead to a comparatively short growing season, and unless a suitable early maturing variety of wheat'is' grown it is likely to carry over the ripening into an unfavourable harvesting period. Moreover, thoughout the summer and early

autumn months this coastal area is not infrequently subjected to strong and boisterous winds, which are not in the best interests of grain growing and harvesting.. Thus, for wheat growing, the soil and climatic conditions of the district call for a springsown variety with a short seasonal growth that will permit late sowings when winter conditions are prolonged. Similarly, resistance to “lodging” and “shaking” would be particular attributes of a suitable variety. Jumbuck the , Standard Variety It is the former attribute— is, early maturitywhich has doubtless led to the adoption of Jumbuck as the standard variety ■ for Rangitikei, and the choice has undoubtedly been wisely made, for this Variety, more so than any other standard variety of the past, has given fairly reliable and high yields of good quality grain' over .a number of seasons under the soil and climatic conditions peculiar ‘to the locality concerned. ■ Nevertheless,' Jumbuck is not without its drawbacks. The two most serious are: Firstly, the tendency to develop heavy, soft straw, especially if grown on the heavier, richer soil types and after . a foot or green fodder crop which has been “folded,” thus rendering it liable to excessive lodging; and secondly, its susceptibility to “shaking” . both in the field'. and out of the stook. Thus, in an unfavourable . season many a promising crop finally proves most disappointing as a result of the general effects of weather conditions, and particularly of the strong coastal winds, which often

cause serious “lodging” of the crop and “shaking” of the grain. Within recent years a series of experimental and field trials have been conducted in collaboration with Messrs. G. L. Marshall and Alec Stuart, two well-known and experienced Rangitikei wheat growers, to determine whether some other introduced or specially selected variety would respond, under district environments, with consistent and reliably high yields of good quality grain without the risk of “lodging” and shaking so prevalently' shown by the present standard variety. To fit in with the district conditions and requirements, any such variety would, of course, have to combine these two desirable attributes with short seasonal growth (early maturity), permit late spring sowing in unfavourable seasons, and exhibit high yielding potentialities. Cross 7 Cross 7 was one of the first varieties tried, in view of its success in the South Island, where since 1936 it has

been rapidly displacing large acreages of Tuscan and some areas of Hunters and Jurnbuck. This variety is particularly noted for its stiff, stout straw and immunity to “lodging” and comparative tightness of grain in the ear, which, associated with satisfactory yields of good quality grain, appeared to indicate reasonable possibilities of success in the Rangitikei. Unfortunately, Cross 7 has not proved successful when spring-sown in the Rangitikei, mainly because of its long seasonal growth and lateness in reaching maturity, for it would seem that to reach the stage of ripeness during a favourable harvesting period and without unduly prolonging this period Cross 7 would have to be sown either very early in the spring or else in the winter. As previously indicated, these procedures are not always possible in the district concerned. Thus, while this variety has always stood without the slightest signs of “lodging” and suffered little from “shaking,” it has generally been outyielded by Jurnbuck and has taken several weeks longer to mature. As

a winter-sown variety it has shown decided promise, which was borne out by a crop sown in May, 1939, following failure of swedes. This crop survived the prolonged and wet winter of that year and revived in spring, to provide a thick, even stand which was harvested during the first week of January, and yielded 1 approximately 50 bushels per acre. Tainui As a good yielding, early maturing, spring-sown wheat and one that is less susceptible to lodging and shaking than Jumbuck, the recently-introduced variety Tainui has so far shown a very favourable comparison with the standard variety in both experimental and field trials. Tainui was selected by the Wheat Research Institute, Christchurch, following five years of experimental field trials and grain quality tests with pure lines of wheat from supplies of seed from several overseas countries. This variety was .first included in experimental trials in the Rangitikei in the 1937-38 season, when it proved

quite promising, although not outstanding in comparison with both Cross 7 and Jumbuck. The following season it was again included in variety trials along with Jumbuck, Cross 7, and several other introduced varieties, and was also extended to field scale trials in an area adjacent to a crop of Cross 7. In the former, Tainui again showed promise, being early, maturing, reasonably resistant to “lodging,” and very immune to “shaking,” and in the field trials yielded 38 bushels per acre compared with 30 bushels for the adjacent Cross 7 crop, and a yield which compared favourably with the average for Jumbuck in that season.

During the past season further opportunities were afforded for comparison, particularly between Tainui and Jumbuck, both in experimental and extended field trials. The prolonged wet winter of 1939 delayed spring sowings throughout the district, and although the remaining spring . and summer proved quite favourable for wheat growth, occasional rains and frequent strong and boisterous winds at and about harvesting subjected most crops to a severe buffeting both in the field and in the stook. In the experimental trial conducted on the property of Mr. G. L. Marshall, “Greenbank,” Turakina, both Tainui and Cross 7 gave significantly higher yields than Jumbuck, there being an improvement of 11 bushels per acre for Tainui and 6 bushels for Cross 7. Jumbuck suffered very severe loss through “shaking,” which affected the other two varieties but slightly. Comparisons on a field scale between Jumbuck and Tainui were also possible on the same property, where one crop in particular furnished an outstanding illustration of the resistance of Tainui to “shaking.” ■

This particular crop of Tainui, which was sown early in October with once-

grown Rangitikei seed and on land that had grown a 30-bushel crop of Cross 7 the previous season, established and developed well, and was ready for harvesting at the end of January. On or about February 2 unsettled weather accompanied by strong winds was forecast. It was therefore decided to “bind” the crop if possible before the onset of the winds, but part of the crop still remained uncut when the predicted gales began on the following day and continued -unabated over the weekend with exceptional severity. Although this part of a fully-matured crop was severely buffeted for two days and strong winds were still prevalent when the crop was inspected on the third day, the wheat was still standing reasonably well, although with a decided lean, and evidence of “shaking” was practically nil, there being but a few odd grains apparent on the ground.

The yield of this crop when threshed from the stack in early April was close on 50 bushels per acre. Another 15-acre crop of Tainui on ths same property, sown after rape and in a field adjacent to the winter-sown crop of Cross 7 mentioned previously, averaged 40 bushels per acre, although the average was lowered to some extent by two or three acres of the crop in a low-lying section of the field becoming heavily invaded with weeds. An area of Jumbuck under very similar soil conditions, but sown 10 . days earlier . than the Tainui, yielded "39 bushels per acre. '

One further 16-acre crop of Tainui was sown during the last week of September on strong loam soil on the property of Mr. Alec Stuart, Heaton Park. It was seeded ’down at the rate of 2f to 3 bushels per acre and at the same time as an adjacent area of Jumbuck. The, Tainui developed into an exceptionally strong, even

stand, which remained free of weeds and disease infection and was cut and stocked during the third week of January. This crop gave no evidence of “lodging” or “shaking,” and at harvesting the light straw and full ears resulted in compact, heavy sheaves, which facilitated stocking and indicated high yields. When threshed, this crop provided the exceptionally pleasing and high yield of 71 bushels per acre, an improvement of 8 bushels per acre on the adjacent Jumbuck crop. Another field of Jumbuck on the same property which was harvested several days later than the Tainui “shook” badly both before cutting and when in stook, and yielded 56 bushels per acre. Summary Summarising the evidence to date, it might be said that Cross 7 as a spring-sown crop does not compare favourably with the standard variety Jumbuck because of its slow development, although it is markedly superior to the latter in respect of resistance to “lodging” and “shaking.” Cross 7, however, does show promise as a winter-sown variety, although this practice is the exception rather than the rule in the Rangitikei district.

Tainui shows every promise of proving a most satisfactory spring wheat for the district, and has compared favourably, if not more than favourably, with Jumbuck both for yield and early maturity. Moreover, Tainui has proved more resistant to “lodging” and very much more resistant to “shaking” than the standard variety, i and thus overcomes to a material extent two of the most serious weaknesses of Jumbuck. . Jumbuck’s vigorous growth and great bulk of soft straw, particularly . on the richer soil types or following root crops that

have been heavily manured or fed off with high stock concentration, renders it liable to serious lodging, and the looseness of the grain in the ear frequently results in serious loss through “shaking” and consequently lowers yields at harvesting. *. The soil and climatic conditions of the main wheat-growing areas of the district favour a spring-sown, quicklymaturing type 1 of wheat, for much of the soil lies very wet in the winter and often late into the spring. Thus, while local growers mostly consider late August to early September the best time for spring-sowing, seasonal conditions often make sowing impossible before October. The fact that Jumbuck can be successfully sown late in the spring has been one of the strongest points favouring its local popularity during past years. It would seem that Tainui is its equal in this respect, and by virtue, of other distinct advantages promises to go a long way towards replacing the standard variety, especially if Tainui can maintain its purity and consistency in yield under local conditions over a period of years.

Tainui is by all means worthy of a trial by local growers, and has so far received very favourable comment from those Rangitikei growers who ■ have already tried it out on a field scale in comparison with Jumbuck. In submitting this review, I have to thank Messrs. G. L. Marshall, Turakina, and Alec Stuart, Marton, on whose properties' the various experimental and field scale trials have been carried out, and whose comments and opinions based on long experience in wheat growing have been of. the greatest assistance.

Record Yield of Wheat

Report of Wheat Research Institute. IN May, 1939, a Southland newspaper recorded that a field of 7| acres belonging to Mr. J. Grant, of Otautau, Southland, had yielded 112 bushels per acre. Yields of over 90 bushels per acre are occasionally reported, but this yield of 112 bushels was so exceptional that it was thought worth while attempting to verify it. By the kindness of successive Fields . Superin ten-

dents of the Department of Agriculture in Dunedin the verification became possible. The evidence is as follows: (a) Letter from Mr. J. W. Woodcock, Fields - Superintendent, Dunedin, 21/8/39, enclosing:“Copy: J. Grant’s wheat was threshed by me on April 4, 1939. Quantity: 246 sacks firsts, 6 sacks seconds. Total: 840 bushels. Area from which cut: 7J acres.— F. Clark, threshing mill owner.” (The New Zealand sack contains 3| bushels.) (b) Letter from Mr. J. M. Smith, Fields Superintendent, Dunedin, 7/6/39, enclosing: “Copy: I wish to advise that Mr. Harbord and I checked up the area of Mr. Grant’s wheat field, which is still in stubble. The field has a length of 14.81 chains and a width of 5.08 chairs.A. Stuart, Fields Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Invercargill.” The area given above works out at 7.5184 acres, and the yield is therefore 111.7 bushels per acre or, say, 112, as reported. The variety was Cross 7.