PREPARING LAND FOR AUTUMN – SOWN PASTURE

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 73, Issue 6, 16 December 1946, Page 536

PREPARING LAND FOR AUTUMN - SOWN PASTURE

By

E. B. GLANVILLE,

Assistant Fields Superintendent, Auckland.

ON practically all farms thought will now be given to the preparation of areas which are to be regrassed to permanent : pasture during the coming autumn. It is important that this work be started immediately, as unsuccessful establishment •of good pastures is often traced to hasty seed-bed preparation. The aim should be to have the bed clean, sweet, moist, fine, and firm at the time of sowing. Cultivation- should be completed early to enable the seed to be sown while the land is still warm and in good condition. .

SUCCESSFUL early establishment of. a, palatable, close . pasture sward depends on the' quick establishment of < white clover. This cannot be achieved unless • a .well-prepared, firm seed-bed is //provided. White clover seed will not give a good' strike if sown on a rough, loosely-prepared bed, and ryegrass will not thrive in the sward unless accompanied by white clover. Late cultivation is often caused by waiting for a crop to be fed off, and consequently the preparation, of the desired bed for grass seed is difficult to obtain. The sowing is then delayed until very late autumn, when heavy rains have usually fallen. As a result many of ’ the young grass and clover plants fail to survive the wet, cold, and frosty conditions of ' the following winter. ' Early ploughing, including a . summer fallowparticularly when bringing 'in .virgin landduring which the furrow slices are worked down with disc and' tine harrows,' will permit a suitable seed-bed 1 to be prepared in ' .time for sowing in late February or early March. Fineness throughout the depth of the-seed-bed is most important. A fine surface with large clods of earth, beneath does not constitute a good seed-bed, and this type results from hasty, late preparation.

Natural Consolidation Best Natural consolidation or firmness such as can be obtained by summer fallowing is much superior to that attained with any farm .implement. ( Forced consolidation \ with implements produces a seedbed which is firm ■' on top but loose below. On light land the use of a roller is essential, even with a summer fallow, and the furrow slices should be- rolled down in the same direction as the ploughing before cultivation is begun with top-working imple- , ments such as disc harrows.

Though cultivation methods must vary in different districts because .of the variation in soil types and climate, the objective in preparing land for sowing permanent pasture is the same:

To, do everything possible to prepare a seed-bed J which -: is clean, sweet, moist, fine, and firm . from bottom .to top. . The maim work in , preparing ■ the seed-bed should .be completed by the end of January, and during February periodic harrowing with tine harrows should, be carried out to firm the soil and kill young weed seedlings. Final harrowing and rolling - should take place early in, March before the grass seed, mixture is sown, and .if the land is light, it. should be. rolled- again after sowing. . •

Regrassing after Rape Where . it is intended .to regrass. in the autumn after a crop such as . rape which has been used for fattening lambs, the rape stubble should be grazed as short as possible by grown sheep. . A- satisfactory, seed-bed can then be obtained .simply by discing and harrowing the area before sowing, and following the sowing with rolling. This method will allow the grass seed to be sown during March on . a reasonably -consolidates bed, but a certain amount of . second-growth rape will occur. - This is considered a better practice than ploughing rape stubble before, sowing, because the time taken to plough,. together with subsequent cultivation, will result in late sowing

on' an unconsolidated seed-bed -and poorer pasture establishment. Also, with surface.. cultivation the . pasture will benefit by the manure i-n the surface soil left. by the grazing stock. Difficulty is often experienced in districts where. the autumn regrassing of areas which have been in cereal crops is desired. If possible, • autumn regrassing after cereals should be avoided, as sowing is usually unavoidably. late, and after, a cereal crop the soil, especally .in arable districts, may not be fit for the establishment of a good pasture sward. The soil is often too dry to be ploughed and worked down satisfactorily, and the fertility is often conditions which do. not allow of a firm. seed-bed. These conditions result in poor germination. of grasses and clover, which .will give a poor, weak, open pasture sward..