ROOT AND GREEN FORAGE CROPS

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 81, Issue 3, 15 September 1950, Page 267

ROOT AND GREEN FORAGE CROPS

SEASONAL NOTES Contributed by the EXTENSION DIVISION PREPARATION of land for spring- and summer-sown root and green forage crops should be well advanced in most districts in September, but on light soils in the higher-rainfall districts the initial ploughing may often be delayed until October or even November. There are large areas of inferior grassland in most ■ dairying districts which could well be ploughed, cropped, and resown to pasture, using Certified grass and clover seed. In such a programme root and green forage crops are useful both for supplementary feeding and for preparing the land for resowing to’ grass. * * * ___ In the warmer parts of the North Island JAPANESE Japanese millet is often a very useful supMILLET plementary feeding crop for dairy cows in January and February. The illustration on this page shows an 8-acre Taranaki field of millet. A crop of silage was cut from old grass on the field on November 20; the field was then ploughed and worked down and sown in millet on November 28. The crop was lOin. high on January 1 and gave excellent greenfeed during January and February for 100 cows. The field was ploughed and resown to grass on March 13. * * * trvDnm crrn As n the United States of America, HYBRID SEED outstanding results are being obtained MAIZE in this country by using hybrid seed maize. The Department of Agriculture is now producing in New Zealand from single-cross parent material imported each year Certified seed of the double-hybrid known as Pfister No. 360. In a series of trials over a number of years this hybrid has out-yielded local strains of maize and has shown a high standard of quality and uniformity. For best results fresh hybrid seed should be sown each year instead of retaining seed from the crop produced from hybrid seed. Seed supplies of Pfister No. 360 are available from the Department of Agriculture, Gisborne, through seed merchants. * * * DDAcerrx For the last 10 years New Zealand has BRASSICA been self-supporting in turnip, swede, and SEEDS rape seeds and in chou moellier and kale ■seeds. The Department of Agriculture has supervised the production of most of the seed grown, and this produce has been distributed as either Certified or Government approved. * * * Certified seed of three varieties of rape is availRAPE able. The standard varieties are Broad Leaf Essex and Giant, and seed of Club Root Resistant is available for sowing where the presence of club root disease prevents the growing of a satisfactory crop of the other varieties. * * * GWPTMTQ Seed of six varieties of swedes is recognised □VvEDES as Government approved. The range covered is typical of the range of varieties imported before the war, and farmers requiring this crop for feeding over a period should grow more than one variety. Superlative, Grandmaster, and Crimson King are the standard varieties; Resistant is a late-maturing variety with some claim to disease resistance. . Sensation is a deep-rooting, white-fleshed swede more suited to drier areas, and Calder is a locally bred variety released only in 1949. It is somewhat similar in performance to Sensation, but has a yellow flesh. -

______ t Two varieties of Certified chou CHOU MOELLIER moellier seed are Giant and Medium Stemmed. The Giant variety develops a larger and thicker “marrow-cored” stem, more suited to cattle feeding, whereas the Medium Stemmed variety is usually preferred for sheep feeding. * * * Seed of a selection of thousand-headed kale is KALE recognised as Government approved. Kale retains its leaf growth longer into the winter than chou moellier, but its stem is more fibrous and rarely eaten by stock. * * * Five varieties of Government-YELLOW-FLESHED approved seed of yellow-fleshed TURNIPS turnips are available. Purple Top Yellow and Green Top Yellow are hard-fleshed turnips of the imported Aberdeen types. Purple Resistant and Green Resistant are very similar, but possess a marked degree of resistance to club root. Soft Green Top Yellow under certain conditions is higher yielding than the other varieties, but its flesh is softer and its keeping qualities inferior. * * * urTiimr r-orir-rx Government - approved seed of WHITE-FLESHED three varieties of white-fleshed TURNIPS turnips is available. Green Globe is the standard white-fleshed variety with a firm flesh and good keeping quality. Red Globe and Purple Globe are earlier maturing and more suitable for late-summer and early-autumn feeding. * * * a -r-Tz-wTiT xxr- Though Certified GERMINATION OF brassica seeds carry GOVERNMENT-APPROVED official tags showing BRASSICA SEEDS the identification of the purity and germination certificate corresponding to the line, this information is not available with Government-approved seeds. With turnips, swedes, and kale, all Government-approved seed of each variety is made up into one blend before making the season’s deliveries, and the germination of the seeds

ROOT AND GREEN FORAGE CROPS . . .

being distributed for the coming sow- All packets of Government-approved ing season is as follows: — turnip and swede seeds being distri-THOUSAND-HEADED KALE: over 90 per cent. !\ uted * o retailers this season carry the SWEDE- identification letter V. s w l ul : Superlative ) Grandmaster I all 90 per cent. Grass Seed Crops Crimson King C or better r Calder J Applications of sulphate of ammonia SensaHon 85 per 'cenh at closing time appreciably increase YFI Inw Fl rwn turnip- yields of grass seed crops. An increase YELLOW-FLESHED TURNIP. . o f about 3 bushels per acre may be Green Top Yellow 1 . , £ p t Soft Green Top Yellow I all 90 per cent, expected for ryegrass from an applicaGreen Resistant i or better tion of lewt. of sulphate of ammonia, Purple Top Yellow ) and some trials have shown an increase Purple Resistant 85 per cent. of 7 to 8 bushels from Hcwt Cocks-WHITE-FLESHED TURNIP: foot fields for seed which are not Re^Globe* 16 1 all 90 per cent, normally grazed benefit to an even Purple Globe J or better greater extent from sulphate of am-

monia topdressings. In this crop yields have been increased by 1401 b. through the application of lewt. of sulphate of ammonia in the autumn and a similar dressing in the spring. Trace Elements Officers of the Extension Division have observed that some farmers are experimenting with applications of traco elements to pastures. The danger of doing so without informed advice is very real. Application of sodium or ammonium molybdate to soils already well provided is likely to render pasture poisonous to stock. Similarly ill-advised application of' copper sulphate can result in stock mortality. Both zinc and manganese can be poisonous to plants. No experimenting with trace elements should be carried out without the local Instructorin Agriculture being consulted first.

Preventing Heifers from Turning in Bail

MANY farmers experience some difficulty during the spring months in breaking in heifers to the milking shed. There is a tendency on the part of heifers to turn round in the bails, with the result that there is a general upset in the shed and much interference in the milking routine. A solution to this problem has been worked out by Mr. A. W. Hodder, of Waipapa.

A lOin. x I in. board about 3ft. long is shaped as in Fig. I and

—C. CORP,

Farm Dairy Instructor. Department of Agriculture, Kaikohe. |