Pasture Establishment in the Western Bay of Plenty

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 66, Issue 1, 15 January 1943, Page 31

Pasture Establishment in the Western Bay of Plenty

A. V. ALLO, Instructor in ~~ Agriculture, Whangarei, discusses

ONE of the first things that attracts the attention of the visitor to the Bay of Plenty is the suitability of the country for grassland farming. Under the conditions prevailing in the Bay, . pastures yield very freely, and, from - the relatively small amount of cropping carried on it is quite obvious that this fact is generally appreciated by the farming community. The climate is ideal. Ample rainfall, mild weather conditions, a relative freedom from cold winds and sharp frosts, all go to encourage a prolific grass growth. The soil, varying from light pumice loams to peaty silts, ’ is readily responsive to phosphatic fertilisers and even the poorest soils will give good returns if adequately topdressed. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement in the quality of many of the pastures in the Bay. Quite a few , are poor and weedy, lack clover and ryegrass, and in quality are inferior to what the soil is capable of maintaining. Such conditions may be due to faulty preparation of the seed bed, the use of poor quality seeds, lack of topdressing or to several other factors which will be discussed later. The intention of this article is to collate the experience both of the Department of Agriculture and the farming community as a whole, with the aim of offering a guide whereby the quality of the pastures in the Bay > can be improved and the. production of butterfat increased. It is fully appreciated that the shortage of fertiliser has greatly increased the problem of pasture maintenance and improvement, and that all farming operations are, of necessity, limited by this shortage. Nevertheless, it is felt that the basic principles outlined in this article could be adhered to with profit, even though it is impossible to give the pasture as heavy a topdressing as it would normally receive. The Seed Bed First essential is the preparation of the seed bed on virgin land, from which vegetative growth has been removed. Cultivation of the ground must be thorough and early spring ploughing to a . depth of 5 inches is strongly recommended. If the land is

skim-ploughed a month or two prior to deep-ploughing, so much the better. It should then be left to lie . fallow until January, thus encouraging aeration and bacterial activity. Early in January roll the ground on the furrow. This will help to destroy air pockets and to compact the soil. Then give , the paddock a thorough discing, at least two double cuts. By doing this, clods are worked to the surface and the finer soil falls below, while at the same time moisture is conserved. Discing must be deep if a satisfactory job is to be done. After discing, several strokes with the tine harrows will break up any clods, and, at the same time, help to level down the surface. Then comes one of the most important operations of allthe final, consolidation of the seed bed. A thorough rolling just prior to sowing the seed will amply repay the farmer for his time and work. If no roller be available, a mob of sheep or dry cattle, driven several times over the paddock, will do much useful work in helping to consolidate the soil. On the light soils of the Bay, it is ■ difficult to obtain thorough consolidation, and many instances of poor pasture establishment are directly attributable to faulty work in this connection. Two or three strokes of the roller just prior to sowing down the pasture will go a long way towards giving that consolidated seed bed which is so desirable. It must be emphasised, however, that rolling alone will not suffice, but that every operation from ploughing onwards is aiming at giving a wellformed seed bed, so all work must be done thoroughly and well. When renewing an old pasture the procedure is only slightly different.

Usually it is desirable to take a crop or two before the land is put back into grass. Ploughing should take place early in winter, and the land worked down in the spring for either roots or maize. After the crop is harvested, allow the land to lie until the spring before skim ploughing. Then leave it until January when it should be deep ploughed, rolled disced, harrowed, and again rolled before sowing. Time of Sowing . The seed bed should be prepared and ready for sowing some time between the beginning .of February and the middle of March, depending .on the weather. If the seed is sown much later than the middle of March, clover establishment is usually very poor, while the young ryegrass will be subject to frostlift during the winter. The seed should be sown on a rolled sur-

face, covered - with the brush harrows, and given a final rolling. .. Seed Mixture Perennial ryegrass, white clover and paspalum or cocksfoot, according to the class of country, should form the basis of. the seed mixture. Paspalum may be sown almost. anywhere, while cocksfoot should be favoured on the lighter hill country. On the light soils of the Bay of Plenty, as on all other types of soil, satisfactory. clover establishment is essential ,to the success of the pasture. There are farmers who do not include white clover in their seed mixture, as they say that it will eventually come into the. sward of its own account. However, the entry of

such volunteer clover is usually slow, and, in the meantime, the ryegrass will, have suffered severely owing . to deficiency of nitrogen.. White clover should always be included in the seed mixture.. Paspalum is certainly a grass of great value. Some farmers are afraid that it will get out of hand, and assume such dominance in a sward that all other species will be subdued, or even choked right out: Under a proper system of grazing 'management, however, and with adequate topdressing and use of the mower for topping when necessary, paspalum can be controlled quite well. The wealth of feed that it will produce during the summer and early autumn periods, when ryegrass and

white clover are relatively dormant, make it a grass of great value, and it should certainly be included in at least a few fields on every farm. Cocksfoot is also of value, particularly on the higher country, and is worthy of inclusion in the general seed mixture. v It will produce good seed later ,in the season than ryegrass, and when a sward is properly managed this plant can be a very valuable, constituent of the pasture. Timothy is a grass also worthy of consideration. It is greedily eaten by stock, so that it does not always show up in a pasture, but it is surprising how prominent this grass becomes in fields closed for hay crops. Where paspalum is not favoured, timothy should certainly be sown

° n the peaty silts, while even on the lighter country some farmers include

one or two pounds per acre in the seed mixture. Crested dogstail is also sown fairly extensively, and its value as a bottom grass makes it worthy of inclusion in the pasture mixture. A satisfactory seeding should comprise most of the above pasture species, and the standard mixtures, given below, should be varied to suit local conditions. Certified perennial ryegrass . . Certified white clover .. Certified cocksfoot Timothy Red clover .. Crested dogstail . . .. 1 When paspalum is desired, it should be included at the rate of 6-8 lb. per acre. It is preferable to use Australian hand-shaken seed, rather than seed produced in New Zealand, which usually has a very poor germination. Quality of seed used is of paramount importance. There has been a great deal of so-called cheap seed sown in the Bay, but such seed is not satisfactory. In . every district there are farmers who have sown down paddocks in this “cheap” 4|d .per pound seed and in no case has a satisfactory sward resulted. Certified seed, obtained from a reputable merchant, should always be sown. The extra initial cost of such seed will be repaid by the increased production during the first year, and will provide a permanent asset instead of an increasing liability. This point cannot be stressed too mucha farmer cannot expect to get a high quality pasture unless he sows high quality seeds. Another point of importance is the rate of seeding per acre. Many farmers sow a good deal less than the standard mixture recommended by the Department of Agriculture. Farmers who sow such light seedings usually justify their action on the ground that they cannot afford a full 40 lb. per acre seeding, plus adequate fertilisers.

Farm Shelter

Good farm shelter is a necessity rather than a luxury, as is shown by the fact that close attention has been paid to this point on practically every farm in New Zealand which shows an outstanding herd average. Best results are obtained if the provision of shelter is planned ahead and useful suggestions are contained in Bulletin No. 182, “Farm Shelter,” by P. S. Syme, Instructor in Agriculture, Warkworth. A free copy of this bulletin may be obtained from the Department of Agriculture, P-O. Box 3004, Wellington.

From observations extending through the western end of the Bay, many of

the seedings appear far too light, resulting in an open sward which , takes a long time to reach full production. Moreover, with the risk from ragwort infestation, light seedings are very dangerous. It would be better to handle only half the area, as experience shows that the TOTAL feed produced from a given weight of seed is greater when sown at the full rate,

than when it is skimped in order to cover a larger area. As a rule, more feed would be produced from four acres sown at the rate of 401 b. per acre than would be obtained from eight acres seeded at the rate of 201 b. per acre. Manuring New ’ Sown Pastures Phosphates are essential in the Bay. In experiments conducted by the Fields Division and covering the whole of the Western Bay of Plenty, it has been shown that serpentine super will give results at least as satisfactory, and often superior to any other form of phosphatic fertiliser. On virgin land, where humus is low, it is a good practice to apply blood and bone as well as the inorganic phosphate, to provide a source of nitrogen for the young grass until the clovers are established. It is appreciated that it is a very difficult matter to obtain blood and bone these days, but, when it is available it could. be used to advantage. .. . x. Summary Generally speaking, improvement in pasture quality throughout the Western Bay , of Plenty provides ample scope for the farming community. While it must be admitted that there is a considerable acreage that will compare favourably in quality with the best in other high-producing districts, the general average does not reach a high standard of excellence. A fairly high acreage, in fact, is quite inferior in quality. Insofar as the better' pastures are concerned, sound management coupled with, topdressing as far as the ration permits will help to maintain a satisfactory position. With regard to the lower quality swards, however, improvement can be most economically secured by renewing such pastures. The practice of oversowing poor swards with better grasses and clovers

has given some outstanding results (see N.Z. “Journal of Agriculture” Vol. 62, page 437) and could be adopted with success on many farms. To summarise, it should be remembered when sowing down pasture in the Western Bay of Plenty, that the following points are of considerable importance, and determine the degree of success that will be attained:— 1. Thorough, early preparation of the seed bed, in which consolidation should not be overlooked. 2. Early autumn sowing of a suitable and adequate seed mixture in which certified seed is used. 3. Provision of all available fertiliser for pasture establishment. In this connection phosphates are essential, with serpentine super giving good results.

Answer to Correspondent

Crops for Feeding Sheep.

“SUBSCRIBER” (NELSON):— For further sheep feed after a crop of turnips, would you recommend Japanese millet, or perhaps chou moellier? Would a dressing of crushed carbonate of lime be an advantage to the crop? Does a crop of oats and vetches sown during February give much feeding during the winter? FIELDS DIVISION:— Generally, it is wise in the interests of disease prevention not to follow a cruciferous crop with another member of the same family. Rape, chou moellier, kale, turnips, and swedes are best sown after pasture or some noncruciferous crop. Accordingly, Japan; ese millet might well follow in your rotation after winter-fed turnips or swedes, and if sown in November or, at the latest, mid-December, it should be ready for first grazing about eight to ten weeks later. Chou moellier is not so suitable for supplementary sheep forage as is rape. ( Crops of the cruciferous family are all strongly responsive to lime, and do best if drilled with reverted super at 2-3 cwt. per acre, or, better still, a 50:50 mixture of super and crushed lime which has been turned and mixed some days previously. A general predressing of one ton of carbonate of lime per acre would also be beneficial in your locality. Oats and vetches if early autumn sown (March-April) on suitable land usually provide good winter grazing, but on heavy ground subject to pugging they may be most disappointing.

i Light Country. Better Quality Lands. 20 to 25 lb. per acre 2 21b. „ 12 to 8 lb. 1 lb. „ 3 3 lb. 99 2 0 lb. „ — —— 40 40 lb.