Growing New Hybrid Fodder Plant

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31001, 5 March 1966, Page 9

Growing New Hybrid Fodder Plant

Mr Thomas Corson, of Gisborne, who has been associated with the introduction into New Zealand of a promising plant for use in summer fodder crops, Trudan I, a hybrid sudangrass, said in Christchurch this week that the particular role he saw for the plant was for conversion into hay or haylage or silage for feeding to dairy cows or for beef cattle fattening.

When he visited the Unifed States two years ago Mr Corson said it was the plant that the Americans were really very enthusiastic about and the great North American seed firm of Northrup King, which had been responsible for its production, had asked them to handle it in New Zealand. Mr Corson said that a licence had subsequently been obtained for the import of a limited quantity of seed for growing in the Gisborne area and this had been grown in the 1964-65 season. In the one trial in which records had been kept of weights of material produced about 60 tons to the acre had been taken in three cuts off what was only light land.

At the end of the season the crop had been left to see how it fared with frost. It had actually gone on growing until June 8, after which there had been two frosts of 10 and 12 degrees.

It appeared to be more resistant to frost than maize, he said, and this was confirmed by Mr D. J. G. Davies, an instructor in agriculture with the Department of Agriculture in Christchurch who has been supervising the growing of the hybrid grass in the Lincoln, Halswell, Tai Tapu and Springston districts in the current season. He said that after the frost in late December Trudan had recovered from frost damage after only a week. Mr Corson said that in the Gisborne area it was being grown to maintain milk production at a time of the year when there was no growth—this season in this area there had been only five inches of rain since October. In the 1964-65 season some lucerne and Trudan had been planted on the same day. No cut of lucerne had been ob-

tained under drought conditions until March, but three cuts of Trudan had been taken and there could have been a fourth cut. It was his view that the hybrid stood up to drought conditions better than maize. Trudan which had been sown at the end of November this season had been ready to cut in early January. This sowing had overtaken earlier sowings. In the 1964-65 season it had been fed from January until May. It had been possible to keep on feeding Trudan in the Gisborne area after the lucerne had gone off and this enabled more autumn grass to be saved into the winter.

Mr Corson said that he preferred to see the crop chopped by a forage harvester and fed out than fed in situ. Mr Davies also commented that there had seemed to be a high wastage where it was fed in situ locally this season. It was his opinion that it was best cut with a forage harvester but leaving a 6in tall stalk for recovery. Mr Corson, however, interposed to say that he wondered whether it was really necessary to leave a stalk of this length—it seemed that the new growth came from the base. On sowing Mr Corson said that the soil temperature needed to be up to 55 to 60 degrees. He said that they had tried sowing it in September but it had just sat in the ground and had not really started to move until the temperature got up to about 60 degrees. In a normal season in Canterbury Mr Davies said that might be in early November or even earlier. The land needed to be worked as for peas. It could be sown in seven or 14 inch rows and for a hay crop Mr Corson suggested a high

seeding rate of up to 301 b an acre to produce a thin stem. At 15 to 201 b to the acre Mr Davies said that tillering of individual plants would be better. A rate of 201 b to the acre in seven inch rows was suggested as a sowing for a straight fodder crop. Mr Davies said that further work was needed to determine the optimum nitrogen requirements of the plant and frequency of applications, and also the relationships of sowings at 201 b to the acre in seven inch rows and at 151 b to the acre in 14 inch rows. Where there was a weed problem Mr Corson said that the crop had to be sprayed. 2.4,D had been used when the crop was 12 inches or 18 inches high and once the weed growth was eliminated Trudan really started to grow. Mr Davies said that it would best fit into the farming pattern on dairy farms if it was grown in combination with maize so that the Trudan could be grazed in January, the maize in February and then the Trudan again after four or five weeks. The recovery of Trudan was faster after the second cut than after the first Mr Corson observed. Mr Davies said that a modification of tiie procedure mentioned would be to sow Trudan at different times to stagger its availability.

In the most recent season Mr Davies said that the earliest sown Trudan locally had been ready for grazing in mid-January. Mr Davies said that it was ideally suited for handling by the forage harvester and then tipping from a trailer into containers for cows to feed out of. It seemed to gain in palatabiiity from chopping and none of the farmers he had been working with had had difficulty in persuading cows to feed the crop. Mr Corson recalled how a

trial at Ruakura had been spoilt when cows had broken through maize being grown adjacent to Trudan to get into the Trudan area. He added that no trouble had been experienced with bloat in cattle on Trudan and although dry conditions had been experienced in the Gisborne area tests for prussic acid content had been negative. In Canterbury Mr Davies said that there had not been drought conditions yet or extremely cold weather that might result in the development of an undue acid content.

In comparison with the sorg-hum-sudangrass hybrid, Zulu, Mr Davies said that Zulu appeared to grow a little faster and taller up to the first feeding or cutting, but thereafter in recovery it appeared to be markedly slower than Trudan, but to confirm the relative performances of these two varieties numerous production tests would be necessary. Under favourable management and cutting at the right stage, Mr Corson suggested that it might be possible to get up to 150 per cent more production from Trudan than from maize.