Government Stock Seeds

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 66, Issue 1, 15 January 1943, Page 3

Government Stock Seeds

By

J. A. S. MILLER,

Instructor in Agriculture, Wellington. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiM

x Government stock seeds are the product of much care on the part of the Grasslands Division of the Plant Research Bureau, and of the Department of Agriculture. The original work is done by the Grasslands Division, l which selects the material from which the nucleus seeds I

are obtained. Every plant in the selection has to be examined before it can be saved for seed. The nucleus is then taken over by the Department of Agriculture for multiplication under careful scrutiny.

AS the many farmers who. have applied for Government Stock seeds this season have by now realised, it has been impossible to supply every grower with the seed he desired. This is regretted but it gives some indication of the growing popularity of Government Stock seeds; it also shows that the demand far exceeds the suply, particularly so in the case of perennial ryegrass and. Montgomery red clover. There are two main reasons for this shortage. The amount of nucleus seed produced is small so that the contract areas from which Government Stock seed is obtained are not large, while seasonal' conditions play a considerable part in determining the resultant crop. The other reason is that farmers have created an artificial demand by reason of their orders for these seeds not having been filled in past seasons. Important Points Apart from the usual attention given to the preparation of the seed bed for the sowing of grasses and clovers, con-

sideration should be given to the following points: 1. Perennial Ryegrass: It is the aim of every grower to produce Pedigree seed when he sows an area down with Government Stock seed and there is one main impurity which prevents an area from reaching this .standard Italian ryegrass. It is, therefore, undesirable to sow Government Stock perennial ryegrass on an area -which has previously been in Italian ryegrass. Old stack bottoms should be avoided when drilling, especially if there has been Italian ryegrass in the stack. A clean drill or seed sower is essential as even a trace of Italian ryegrass seed may cause the area to be degraded or even rejected. Many farmers apply,for both perennial ryegrass and white clover for sow-

ing in the same area but this practice is not recommended as it does not lead to the most effective utilisation of the seed available, and it is the maximum production of seed which is required. 2. White Clover: As this is a specialy selected strain of white clover, it is undesirable to have it sown on an area in which there is much volunteer white clover. Certain districts are noted for this volunteer growth and Government Seed stock is, therefore, not recommended for these districts. Suckling clover is a weed which is troublesome and may cause the white clover seed to be rejected on the purity test. Hence, every endeavour should be made to sow on an area relatively free from this weed. The remarks which apply to the sowing of white clover with perennial ryegrass _ also apply here though it may be advantageous to sow some Italian ryegrass with the white clover. Several farmers have been allotted both white clover and Italian ryegrass for this purpose, the former to be harvested in the first season and the latter in subsequent seasons. 3. Cocksfoot: This is a specially-sel-ected leafy variety of cocksfoot evolved by Canterbury Agricultural College and is a decided improvement

The insert slip included in every sack of Government Stock Seed.

on any existing natural variety. The worst impurity of ■ cocksfoot (apart from other cocksfoot varieties) is ryegrass, and it is very desirable to have

the soil entirely free from this grass before sowing the cocksfoot. Odd plants of ryegrass which may appear in the resultant crop should be re-

moved by hand, or, at least, prevented from seeding with the cocksfoot. Cleanliness of the sowing apparatus is essential as it requires very little ryegrass to cause the cocksfoot seed to be degraded from the Pedigree class. 4. Montgomery Red Clover: Government Stock Montgomery red clover has been selected as a high-producing and long-lived strain and it is desirable that it should remain so. Hence the presence of broad red clover or cowgrass is a state of affairs to be avoided at all costs, as a trace of this impurity may result in the degrading or the. rejection of the area. Similarly it is undesirable to sow an area of Montgomery red clover adjacent to or near an area of broad red as the chances of cross-fertilisation are very great and the seed produced from such a crop would be of doubtful type. ■

5. Italian ryegrass: This is the last of the Government Stock seeds to come on the market and its utility has not yet been realised to the full. The remarks which apply to perennial ryegrass apply equally here. Perennial ryegrass is an impurity to be avoided and a rigorous field inspection is made to determine the amount present. A mere trace is allowed so the farmer should make every endeavour to control this variety. It is advisable to leave a strip round the fence-line when harvesting in order to avoid the possible inclusion of perennial. ryegrass which is usually to be found growing in this situation. A Bad Practice Government Stock seeds should be sown absolutely without adulteration with inferior strains. Farmers who have received less Government Stock seeds than they ordered may be tempt-

ed to increase the amount of material by mixing in a proportion of seed of a lower class such as Pedigree or even Mother. This is definitely not a practice to be considered by any man who wishes to produce the best seed. ' - Harvesting Machinery • S The machinery used in harvesting should be as clean as possible. Threshing mills, in particular, should be thoroughly cleaned as these are a frequent source of impurities in the sample. Machine dressing should be carried out by a reliable firm in order to safeguard the final purity and also to get the greatest quantity of clean seed out of : the line, for it is the clean seed which brings in the returns. Government Stock seeds are valuable and the products therefrom are valuable. Why waste them through faulty husbandry? Your local Instructor in Agriculture is always available to help you with your problems. Use him.