Farm Practice and Management

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 63, Issue 5, 15 November 1941, Page 429

Farm Practice and Management

Subterranean Clover on Coastal Hill Country

MUCH of the coastal hill country north from -Napier to well be- , yond Gisborne' is ' good, sound, warm country, but because, this land dries out severely in the summer the pastures are now largely ratstail with danthonia . filling in. There is little if any clover except for a brief showing in the spring of one or other of the annual trefoils. Top dressing gives an improvement, 'but it is too slow to be really a profitable proposition. The introduction of subterranean clover on this ratstail country, however, followed by. regular topdressing with superphosphate at 14 and 2cwt. per acre, has given remark-

ably good results by rapidly converting dry. harsh, and coarse dry-stock pastures to quite satisfactory fat lamb country. Sub terr anean- clover establishes very readily among the ratstail, growing up through the clumps, which protect it well during the early stages of development. ’ The clover spreads

over and through the ratstail, and both' . cattle and sheep readily chew down the . clumps. Regular topdressing with it to 2cwt. of superphosphate will eventually result in the re-establishmeri't of such grasses as perennial ryegrass and • cocksfoot, together with white clover

The photographs, which were taken in August, 1941, show a sward ~ of . dominant ratstail which was oversown with subterranean clover in March, , 1938, and topdressed since with 2cwt. per acre of superphosphate each year. The subterranean\ clover grows well

through the winter, and continues to give good feed until' about the end of December, and it can produce • good early fat lambs. . —R. P. HILL, Fields Instructor, Hastings.

Dual Cropping on Maize Areas

IN most districts where maize is f grown primarily for consumption by stock on the farm it is a sound practice. to grow cattle marrows or kumi kumis in association with this crop. As a general rule, dual cropping of - a piece of land has serious limitations as most crops will not yield well unless grown alone on an area. However, maize and kumi kumis have been found to grow in association so well that any maize grower can be confidently recommended to sow kumi kumis in the same field. Admittedly, the individual crops may not yield so heavily as when grown ; 'alone, but the combined production, measured in stock feed, will be greater. . Moreover, should one or the other partially fail for any reason, the associate crop usually benefits as a result, so

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Methods of Sowing

The usual practice in sowing ,is to " include kumi kumi seed at the rate of 2 lb. per acre, with the maize. Thus, it is drilled in every row and rapidly covers’ the . ground. While this may be fairly satisfactory, the practice has a number of defects'. Firstly, where annual weeds are troublesome, intercultivation becomes impossible once the vines begin to run. Again, by sowing in every row, great care has

to be taken in the early stages of cultivation to prevent serious damage to the kumi kumi plants. A sounder method of sowing these crops is to sow the maize alone in the usual drills. •" Then,, about two weeks later, sow the kumi kumi seed in every fourth row. This seed may be dibbled in the maize rows, which can be done quickly by using a spade. The advantages of sowing in this manner are: Firstly, that the kumi kumis are confined to every fourth row, so that cultivation of most of the crop can continue for much longer; secondly, by sowing the kumi kumi seed two weeks after the maize a longer period of maize intercultivation can z be given; and thirdly, this latexsowing enables most of such work to be well forward before the kumi kumis

begin running, so that they suffer less damage.

U tilisation of Crops,

Once i the maize' has been harvested, the maize stalks may . be grazed off by cattle. While this material is not of high feeding quality, it does provide a useful source of winter feed —a fact that is recognised by farmers,-who are usually prepared to pay up to £1 per acre for grazing rights, f ■ In addition, the kumi kumis may be used for cattle feed or for wintering pigs. There is no real necessity to gather and store them; instead, stock may be turned in on them, where they can be rationed by splitting a proportion each' day. Kumi kumis are a useful crop for wintering stock', perhaps not so valuable as a good root crop, but nevertheless well worth considering as a companion crop to maize. , —C. WALKER, Instructor in Agriculture, Thames.

Answer to Correspondent

Ryegrass in a Lawn.

8.0. F. (FEILDING):— I would be glad if you could tell me some means of getting rid of ryegrass in a tennis court. The ryegrass grows in tufts on the back line and in fairly large patches in other places on the court. It will not cut cleanly with the mower, and the tufts make the surface uneven.

FIELDS DIVISION:—

There is no treatment that could be used to kill the ryegrass and at the same time leave the ground in suitable condition so that the other lawn grasses would cover over the bare patches or, if these are large after the ryegrass is killed, the soil is fit for the sowing of lawn grass seed. The only method is to fork or dig out isolated. ryegrass plants as you would any weed, taking care to get out all the root. If the soil is pressed back into place carefully the other grasses, such as browntop and chewings fescue, in the lawn will soon cover over small bare places. A little clean soil could be used to fill up hollows left by the ryegrass plants. Where, however, the, ryegrass has reached the stage of forming patches of any size, returfing is the only method

that can be used. The ryegrass turf is taken out to a depth which will ensure all the crowns being removed. It should be possible to get pieces of suitable lawn grass turf from some part of the court area that is not immediately important for play. If .returfing is carried out the turfed area should be kept well watered and not allowed to dry out too much until the turf has knitted again to the subsoil. If turfing is not possible, then the forking out of the perennial ryegrass, levelling with fresh soil, and resowing these areas must be done if the court is to be cleared of ryegrass.

This work must be done as early as possible in the autumn to give- the new grass time to harden up before play, a condition which would not be possible if reseeding were done now. ''' < Ryegrass comes into lawns generally as isolated plants, which should be taken out of the lawn with a fork or other implement as they appear. If dealt with while quite small, no difficulty should be experienced in keeping the lawn free of this very objectionable species. ;

Erosion on the "Whither" Hills

Appropriately named, the . Wither Hills is . a large block of hilly' country immediately south of Blenheim. About 50 years ago this land, it is said, was heavily clothed in tussock, and in this condition carried a good number of stock with , success. Evidence of land deterioration was not apparent. During the last 50 years, however, a vast change has taken place. The attentions of rabbits, stock, and the firestick combined have wrought an amazing transformation, so that today the land is clothed mainly in danthonia. Even this in parts ' •’ snmse. and appears chary of continued existence. !• In spite of the fact that the district i enjoys only a light rainfall—on an average 20 inches to 23 inches — eroding hillsides are to be seen almost all over the block, and an idea of the extent and rapidity of this erosion can be gained from the fact that within the last three years definite changes have

taken place in the scour under investigation. Measures to counteract this tendency have already been in operation for several years. Firstly, the rabbits, once plentiful, have been reduced al-

most to zero, while burning also has lost most of its advocates. Thus, the two factors which played a large part in bringing about the present condition of the hills have been eliminated. In areas where this applies, the land is responding in that tussock growth can be seen coming back, which is probably the forerunner of better cover and greater resistance to erosion. -Much of the area is, however, so denuded that it will be several years before substantial results can be expected from the measures mentioned. .

D. R. WILKIE,

Instructor in

Agriculture, Blenheim.