Pasture and Crop Production

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 99, Issue 4, 15 October 1959, Page 327

Pasture and Crop Production

Seasonal Notes by the Farm Advisory Division

CONTROL OF TWIN CRESS IN DAIRY PASTURES

TWIN cress or land cress is not a troublesome weed in dense, well managed pastures where a good cover can be maintained, but there are always bare patches round

gateways and trees where it can thrive. A cow eating 14 oz of this plant secretes cress-tainted milk for several hours after, so that the need for control is plain. Pastures should be examined now for twin cress, particularly round gateways and trees. A fine day should be selected to control it and infested parts sprayed with MCPA at f to 1 lb acid equivalent (14 to 2 pints) per acre. The cows should then be kept away for. a few days to give the twin cress time to die off. • Cress taint is difficult to detect in the cream when cold, but becomes very marked as soon as heat is applied. One unsuspected can of cress-tainted cream mixed into a vat can downgrade 6 tons of butter during manufacture. —M. G. BOYER, Te Awamutu

ALTERNATIVE WINTER FEEDS

WHERE pasture alone is used for wintering stock inclusion of 5 to 6 oz of turnips .or swedes in the mixture

when sowing new grass adds to the bulk of the pasture. On the lighter soils and mainly as a winter feed for sheep a bushel of blue lupins may be included in the grass mixture. A low seeding of lupins may be included with other forage crops or sown alone as a winter feed crop at 2 to 3 bushels per acre. A common practice is to sow a mixture of ryegrass, lupins, and turnips, and sometimes a few ounces of chou moellier is added. When sown as a mixed winter feed either Italian or shortrotation ryegrass is used, but the mixture is used on occasions even when sowing down with perennial ryegrass as a permanent pasture. On the heavier soils and under high rainfall a crop of swedes provides the main winter feed. Where loss from cauliflower mosaic occurs the resistant varieties Calder or Sensation should be sown. On the lighter, drier soils turnips replace swedes. With both turnips and swedes the inclusion .of i to 1 bushel of lupins sown with the root seed or in alternate drills adds to the bulk of leafy material produced. Chou moellier is also grown with roots and 3 to 4 oz with 10 to 12 oz of swede or turnip seed is sown. Alternatively, where chou moellier is the main crop 4 to 5 oz of swede or turnip seed is sown with 1-J to 14 lb of chou moellier. When this mixture is sown the turnips or swedes are sown separately through two or three coulters of the drill. On dairy farms, especially for town milk supply,, chou moellier is the main source of forage. The area of chou moellier is often supplemented with an area of mangels and in addition or as an alternative to the mangels an area of fodder beet is often grown. Fodder beet is not such a heavy cropper as mangels, but is higher in dry matter and food value and is an easier crop to handle. —R. G. JOLLY, Christchurch * * *

LUCERNE SOWING

LUCERNE requires a firm, fine seedbed in which lime is adequate. Times for sowing vary with conditions, but in Canterbury early

spring is usually favoured, with late September to early October the most popular . period. Early sowing ensures that the seed is placed in a sufficiently moist soil for satisfactory germination and allows a full growing season for establishment. Annual weeds

such as fathen can later be controlled by mowing. Though autumn sowing after a summer fallow is still common, results are not generally as satisfactory, for moisture is frequently a limiting factor and after a dry summer weeds such as chickweed may be troublesome after autumn rains. Nodule forming bacteria are necessary for the successful establishment of lucerne and these should be supplied by the inoculation of seed before sowing. In Canterbury drilling is the most satisfactory method of sowing and the usual practice is to mix the culturetreated seed with a 50-50 mixture of lime and superphosphate which has been given time to revert and. to sow in 3J or 7. in. drills. Cross drilling is occasionally carried out, but broadcasting is not recommended. Rates of seeding vary, but 8 to 10 lb of culture-treated seed per acre is sufficient and a heavier rate will most certainly not compensate for poor seedbed preparation. Much has been written on the importance of shallow drilling, but the ideal depth is 1 in. With shallower sowings, sufficient moisture for rapid germination may not be available and exposure to sunshine or air will, kill the bacteria supplied to the culture. Light harrows should follow the drill, but rolling after drilling is not recommended. —E. G. SMITH, Rangiora

SAVING FEED FOR LAMB WEANING

I ** . ■ - LATELY, after research work at Ruakura, many farmers in the North Island have turned to early

weaning of lambs as a means of better use of feed supplies and better pasture management. From farmers’ reports it seems that the time of weaning does not have a great effect on lamb weights as such, provided they are weaned on to good spelled pasture. Most of the notable variations occur in times of shortage of pasture for ewes and lambs followed by poor feed at weaning. Pasture for weaned lambs should be clover dominant, leafy, and about 4 in. long. On fat lamb farms the aftermath of hay or seed crops is ideal for early and late weaning. On hill-country farms it is essential that suitable areas are closed from stock in time to give the desired pasture conditions when needed for weaning and to ensure that not less than three weeks elapses to obtain the maximum depletion of the worm population. The warmest paddocks with the greatest clover content should be chosen for weaning and any unexpectedly fast growth controlled by cattle, not sheep.’ In areas subject to summer drought the maximum growth period ends toward the end of November and the pick of the pastures should be close grazed and then closed from stock at the beginning of the month to ensure the production of a mature clover dominant sward fit for early weaning. Late weaning under these conditions, especially where subterranean clover is the chief sward legume, usually makes for a dry and stemmy pasture and poor lambs. High-quality pastures are essential for maximum lamb growth. Quality for weaning means not only good clover content but short, mature growth, and to achieve this in fast-growing seasons weaning must be delayed until lambs and cattle are likely to gain good control. Particularly in summer drought areas it is a good insurance, where possible, to sow an area of kale or turnips for weaning if pasture spelling has not been possible owing to shortage of feed. If the crop is not required for weaning, it can be carried as a run-off in case conditions favouring facial eczema outbreaks occur.

—H. DE O. CHAMBERLAIN,

Gisborne