FARMERS' FIELD DAY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 47, 11 March 1937, Page 7

FARMERS' FIELD DAY

Our Own Corresponflent)

Manurial Trials Exajnined

(From

DANNEVIRKE, This Day, There was a good attendauce of about 40 f armers at a field-day held on Mr L. Eierabend's property, Uxuutaoroa, Dannevirke, on Tuesday. The visitors were shown over a series of demonstration plots dealing with grass and clover strains, as well as manure trials and the inoculation of clovers by Mr J. W. Palmer, Instructor in Agriculture, Hastings. The grass and clover . Btrain trials were ,very satisfactory and a great deal of infornlation was obtained, the plots being an eye opener to those who actually saw the experiments. Mr Palmer explained that the department, in laying down these experiments, had in view certain objects, which were as follow: — In plots 1 to 30, the testing of pedigree, certified and commercial strains of perennial ryegrass, Italian ryegrassj coeksfoot and • white clover and red clover. In every case, the same amount of ryegrass, white clover, or any other grass which is being compared, is sown at the same rate. In the coeksfoot trials, Ro perennial ryegrass was sown so as to give the coeksfoot every chanee of establishing itself and proving its worth. Italian rye was sown in place of the perennial ryegrass, as it gives an early bite and later disappeared when coeksfoot became established. Probably the outstanding feature of the day was the strong growth of the certified seed, ryegrass, white clover and Montgomery red clover, the latter being the most interesting to the onlookers as they had seen so little of this perennial clover. The grass and clover strain trial was inspected first,- starting at plot number 1 and working down the plots in numerical order. The manurial trial was then inspected and finally, the clover inoculation trial. These trials proved to the f armers that the better strains of clovers and grasses produced the better swards, from which , maximum production was obtained. In the manure trials there was noticed a marked lime response. Lime was applied at one ton to the acre on seven plots, .consisting of (1) super, (2) Seychelles phosphate, (3) basic slag (4) super, (5) slag potash, (G)' super potash, and (7) potash. Half of the plots received lime and the other half received no lime. In every instance, where lime and super, and Bme and slag, had been opplied, the plots were very good; plots super, and lime und "potash, and slag, and lime and potash, were the most outstanding. In the high rainfall area it appeared that slag was just as effioctive as super, although the cost of those two manums varies considerably. No. 1 plot, which was treated with super at the initiai laying down, was to be replaced with ammoniated super this year, Mr Palmer explained. The "no manure" plot lacked density and clover growth, and certainly had not been so well eontrolled. Potash on its own proved to he of no v&lue. *

In the inoculation trial half the aTea received lime at one ton per acre and the whole area received super at 2 cwt. per acre. Half the plot was sown with inoculated clover and half with uninoculated clover. The area reeeiving lime plus Bupef plus inoculated clover was the_ most outstanding. Here a greater density of clover was found, with better growth and better colour. The super with inoculated clover, bnt no lime, was not far behind, but certainly was not better than non-inocnlated clover with super and lime. On this type of country the sowing of inocufated clover with lime had proved qnite well, although it was the only . instance of similar trials where the clover inoculated seed has given so marked a response.