INCREASED YIELD OF LUCERNE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 19, 6 February 1937, Page 15

INCREASED YIELD OF LUCERNE

Striking Example At Opapa MUCH HEAVIER CROPS Striking evidence of the value of superphosphate as a xnanairial dressing i'or lucerue in Hawke 's Bay is provided by the experienee of Mr H. Heffer, who tarms an area at Pukekuia, Opapa. In 1932 Mr Heifer had a paddock on light country which was only carrying danthoma, suclding clover, hair grass and a little crested dogstail. The production from this area was poor, so he decided to try lucerue in tho paddoek. The seed bed for the lucerue was obtained by a siugle plo.ughing and the ordinary working; 15cwt. of super per acre was sown with the seed, which was not inoculated. Marlborough seed at the rate of 201bs. per acre was sown. For the first two years the luoerno did very well, but by the third year deterioration had set in, and during the Spring of 1935 the crop looked yfellow and sickly, and Mr Heifer mad^ up his mind to piough the paddock. His neiglibour, Mr D. Campbell, persuaded him to try a dressing of super, as the stand had not received any manure since it had been sown. Mr Heifer took Mr Campbell 's advice and gave the stand 3cwt. oi' super at the end oi October, 1935. As there was not sufficient super to top-dresa the whole paddock, an area of approximately one acre right in the centre of the paddock was left untreated. The results were amazing, and provided a most striking top-dressing experiment. The lucerne on the treated area was nearly three feet in length, a deep rich colour, plenty of leaf and no flower heads; a magnificent crop, in fact. The lueerne on the area which had not received any super was yellow, stunted. none of the plants being 18 inches long, very sickly, practically no leaf, and a'il the plants w'ell in flower. The remarkable difference between the lucerne from the manured portion of the paddock" and that from the non-manured was an outstanding feature. After the crop was out, the luoerno was put up into cocks, which were all built about the same size. The acre which had not been manured produced six and a-half cocks. while an equivalent portion produced 36 cocks of hay.