RYEGRASS CROPS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20124, 19 December 1939, Page 13

RYEGRASS CROPS

HEAVY SEED YIELD GISBORNE PROSPECTS LARGE AREAS SHUT UP DANGER OF EARLY CUTS If weather conditions are favourable during the harvesting period, Gisborne’s crop of ryegrass seed this season should be the largest for some years. More than 2000 acres have been entered for certification, compared with only a little over 800 acres last season, and in addition to that heavy yields are expected. The first of the crops is expected to be cut about Christmas time.

A warning against early cutting was issued to-day by’ the instructor in agriculture, Mr. E. M. Bates, who said it would pay farmers better to lose a little ripe seed in the harvesting operations than run the risk of having it immature.

When determining the time for cutting, Mr. Bates advised farmers to pick a number of stalks at random, rub them in the palm of the hand, then examine those that came off on to the palm and those that remained on the stalk. This should be repeated in different parts of the paddock, for if a farmer depended upon only a few hearts he might have chanced on a few of the ripest heads, which might not give a true indication of the state of the whole paddock. Those who will be making use of a header harvester were advised to cut with a mower, preferably with a sidedelivery, or with a binder without elevating the straw, about eight or 10 days before the harvester was expected. Many farmers were under the impression that the header harvester would harvest the standing ryegrass, but that was not so. In threshing wheat in the South Island, the header harvester operates from the standing crop which grows without loss of seed to a ripe condition, but ryegrass matures considerably between the time of cutting and harvesting.