FARMING NOTES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 113, 4 June 1941, Page 2

FARMING NOTES

WEED PREVALENT NASSELLA TUSSOCK PROBLEM GROWTH IN CANTERBURY The North Canterbury district executive of the Farmers' Union is to write to ali South Island branches of the Union requesting them to secure reports from their members on the Nassella tussock. It Avas agreed that farmers in; areas remote from the infested areas, in North Canterbury might not readily recognise tho tussock or realise the danger from it. North Canterbury members brought to the meeting specimens of the tussock and showed hdw it could be recognised by the; rasp-like resistance to fingers drawn along the leaves from base to tip. THE HERD SIRE By G .P.M. W. Being the most important animal on the farm, the Herd Sire, to-day is receiving greater consideration eveiy year as the results of Herid Improvement work direct attention to the merits or otherwise of his sons and daughters. Many hundreds of dairy herd owners throughout New Zealand can trace their prosperity from the day they purchased a certain bull. This purchase in many instances was not from a studied knowledge of the reproductive characters, of the bull or his ancestors. But just bjr good luck farmer;; obtained ownership of an animal which,, Avhen mated with very ordinary producing cows left daughters that proved to be, miles ahead cf their dams. Unfortunately for many purchasers, they did not keep these bulls till the daugh'xri. came into profit, and like the proverbial doers of good deeds their a]ue was only realised after they iad been sent to the works, or faded into oblivion from slieer lack of appreciation. A bull would be purchased as a yearling or a two year old,, «nd he would; be five or six years old before his true valuo could be proved by the production of his .laughters. By this time something would have happened to him, or the owner Avculd have decided that it was time to change the herd sire. To-day however, the chances for survival of the good herd sire f:-_\' further use are greater, particularly if his daughters have been tested, lincl uded in the figures supplied to the testing dairyfarmor at the end of the season,, the Herd Im-* provement Association supplies a separate average of the milk, test, and butterfat production of the two year old heifers in each herd. Therefore the Association can claim to have a fair idea of the v«lue of the bulls: used in tlie 600 herds under test. With hope of co-operation from owners, the management of the Association is. sending out a circular with the final test sheets. If owners of proved siresvwho want to exchange, or those farmers who went a proved bull can be made known to ea-ch other, many valuable bulls can continue to be of service to the industry in other herds. PASTURES LIME AND MANAGEMENT The relative acidity of soils . is coming to be regarded as more and more important in the cultivation of farm crops, particularly lucerne and other legumes. The advantages of applying lime to most soils were very largely understood by tho Romans, who employed marl (a natural compound of 'clay and lime), and the classical clover pastures of Britain are a tribute to the skill and understanding of their successors 'vho continued thisi good practice;. With a few exceptions all plants either revel in a lime-sweetened soil or Avill tolerate it.i Acid soils suit but few, and are fatal to most. Lime is an "alkali" 1 (and so are soda, magnesia and potash and some ' others), meaning that it will resist

end absorb acids,, turning them into "neutral" compounds incapable of damaging plants. For practical purposes lime is the only one of importance to tho fanner. True, he has recently discovered that a limestone which contains a proportion of magnesium (dolomite) is frequently more valuable than one that doo.s' not, but this is not because of neutralising quality of magnesium as an alkali. What Causes Acidity ? Acid conditions in soils are commonly caused by the decay of larg? quantities of vegetable matter, particularly where they are wel. Leaves roots and stems decay, forming "humus," and, at the same time, "humic acid." Thus it is that when a swamp drains, grasses, which do not objcct so strongly to acids,, establish themselves fairly successfully, but clovers demand that the acids be neutralised by proper alkalis before they can grow as luxuriantly as the farmer wishes. It is intaresting to note that on a disused tennis lawn, long after the lime used to mark the line has vanished into the soil, they are still visible because of the clover growth fostered by it. Contrary to a common belief, exposure to sun and air will not "sweeten" a foil in the sense of reducing its acidity. Acid is soil-form-ing material, by its absorption by leeching or by its absorption Implants. Such sour soils can only b-. corrected by the application of lirrHin one or other of its useful forms ; (1) Raw ground limestone or carbonate .of lime. Deposits of the stone are found in many places in New Zealand, which is fortunate, ft gives as good or better results than the other forms provided it breduced to a fine enough powder and is properly spread. It has "caustic"' or burning effect. (2) Burnt limestone (or "quick" lime). This naturally costs more than limestone, is very caustic in its; effect, and comes in lumps difficult to spread and handle. It usually deposited in small heap:; over the field and allowed to "slake" naturally before spreading, converting itself into : (3) Staked or hydra ted lime. This is formed by the action of moisture, and when so converted, loses most, of its caustic effect. It is convenient to handle, and ir; a very effective neutraliser of soil acidity. A. Simple TestSoils can be over-limed. This is usually done to insufficient mixing with the soil, uneven spread, or attempts to lime the plants. A good old maxim is "lime the soil; fertilise the crop.." Over-liming causes a wastage of potash (an important plant food) «?nd of nitrogen (perhaps the most valuable food of all: at any rate, the most expensive to buy). A pinch of sulphate of ammonia (a splendid nitrogen fertiliser) held in the palm of the hand has practically no smell. Add a piece of slaked lime and fumes of ammonia, sufficient almost to take the breath away, are given off. The lime has released the ammonia into the air, taking all the pitrogen •with it. Generous Dressing 1 . From half to one ton per acre of dolomite or ground limestone is a generous dressing, . which should soon make its practice felt in improved soil texture, and a more abundant growth of clovers. Following this with an application of fiom a half to one cwt.. of superphosphate annually will replace the phosphoric acid removed by grazing or cropping. But that is another story. Fertilisers are used to provide foods the plants require; lime is vised to assure those conditions of the soil under which most -plants thrive. True, a small amount is. required, and is absorbed, as food, but lime functions primarily as a "oondilioneir,'* not as a fertiliser.