LUCERNE GROWING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4363, 9 January 1922, Page 4

LUCERNE GROWING.

DEMONSTRATION PLOTS. EXPERIMENTS IN THE SOUTH. Lucerne growing is a serious business in the South Island, and a Canterbury Lucerne Campaign Committee has been set up to grow experimental plots and watch the progress made. The Railway Department had allowed the Department ofi Agriculture, under whose .auspices the committee is working, to use.vacant sections alongside the railway line at Templeton and Bankside. Recently Messrs A. H. Wheeler and B. D. Steffens, retired farmers and members of the commits tee, were deputed to inspect the areas and furnish a report. Particulars regarding each area were supplied to them, and the sanction of the Department of Agriculture was obtained to cut and weigh portions of the crop growing on each, to ascertain the approximate yield of hay that may be secured from the first crop of the present season-

Members of the committee anl others made an inspection of the different areas. Messrs Wheeler and Steffens were given a free hand in the selection/ of suitable average areas of crop to be cut and weighed, and their report is as follows : The lucerne areas, three in number, that we were asked to inspect arid report upon, are situated on. the railway reserve near Templeton, Bankside, and Ashburton. When these were secured from the Railway Department for demonstration purposi es they were in their native state, never having been ploughed. We are given to understand that these areas were secured by the Department of Agriculture for the purpose of demonstrating to the farming community: (1) That lucerne could be grown profitably on the poor soils in Canterbury, and at little expense, providing attention was given to proper cultural methods.

(2) That there was no need for great and'expensive preparatory cultivations of the soil before sowing lucerne. I

(3) That,- even although the soil was light and poor, on the surface, there was no need to apply stable manure or artificial fertilisers when sowing the seed, or afterwards, as a top-dressing to secure satisfactory results, as lucerne was itself the greatest fertilising and soil improving plant known, and that liming, inocu-, lation of the soil, and frequent tilling was required.

(4i) ■ That ground burnt lime or caustic lime was. essential on those soils at the rate of one ton or more per acre.

(5) That the inoculation of the soil at time of sowing with the microorganisms peculiar; to the lucerne plant was advisable. After careful inspection of the areas situated many miles apart on variable, light and poor soils, we have come to the conclusion that these cultural methods adopted .have proved successful in every way. We need only mention in that connection that four acres at Bankside and two acres at Ashburton were broken' up out of the native state, and after receiving three or four strokes off the tripod harrows and rolling were sown to lucerne without further preparation. Ground burnt lime was applied to all areas. Inoculation soil was applied to all the stands, but In some instances was withheld and opportunity given to farmers to watch the beneficial effects to stands as the process of inoculation proceeded from year to year. We understand that the inoculation of the Temptieton area was carried out in this way. TEMPTLETON AREA. This, at time of our inspection, presented a fine appearance, and, although sown in rows 24ft. apart, in some portions the rows were hardly distinguishable, so long and leafy was the growth.. Although the season was favourable for\the growth of other vegetation, it was not so in regard to lucerne, which requires more heat and less rain than has been prevalent this spring. The lucerne is now starting its fourth year of growth, and the crop inspected is the first of the season. In pur opinion it should have been cut some weeks ago, as the new growth coming away at the crown of the plant is too far advanced tp admit pf the erpp being cut without damage to the crop to follow. An area, a fair average of the whole crop, was selected, cut, and weighed, and should give approximately a yield of hay equal to 1'52 tons of bay per acre. At £6 per ton—its average market value—this gives a return for the first cut of the season of £9 2s 4d per acre. BANKSIDE AREA. . The crops produced are outstanding

in comparison with any other vegetation in the district. The whole area is a complete success. On the irrii gated area, attention in respect «.o cultivation has not been what it should have been, and has not been carried out to do justice teethe plant or offer the best facilities for harjvesting operations. The four acres not under irrigation show indications that this area was’not cleaned up and put in order after last seasons’ crops ,and therefore not left in the condition to realise the' best results lor the first crop of this season, The four acres are apparently intended to be grazedwith sheep. The maturity of the nrer sent growth indicated that it should have been stocked and the feeding-off completed before now, as the first growth of the next crop is already well advanced above the crown and will now be injured, which will mean at least the loss of one crop for tho season. It was noticed that about 50 sheep with lambs were put on to eat off the crop. This, in our opinion, is far too small a number, and unless the number is considerably increased must result in waste, besides inqury to the plant, as it will become too. rank. Tn the irrigation area of half an acre there are two varieties of lucerne sown, Grimm and These were cut and weighed, and the weights as hay are, approximately: Grimm, 1.057 tons per acre, valued at £6 6s lOd per acre; Marlborough, 0.610 tons per .acre, value £3 13s 2d per acre. On the flour-acre plot being grazed, the variety is Hunter river; 1 an average area was cut, yielding, ap-t proximately, as hay, 0.634 tons per acre, value £3 16s per acre. ASHBURTON AREA

This area looked a picture, and is worthy of an inspection by farmers, as the crop is much better than it appears from the main road or the railway. The cultivation was a strikiagi contrast' to either the Templeton cr Bankside areas. This area is on light, stony 'land, and is a most valuable demonstration _ that lucerne can be grown profitably on this class of land with very little expense after the initial cost of sowing. The crop, as indicated by the new growth at the crown, is m'ore than ready for cutting. One acre is used as an irrigation demonstration area, on which two var-t ieties of lucerne are grown, Grimm and Marlborough. A typical area, giving a fair average of each, was cut and weighed, giving approximately the weight as hay per acre: Grimm, 0.888 tons, value £5 6s 6d per acre ; Marlborough, 0.666 ton per acre, value £3 19s lid per acre. These were sown in 1920. TWo .acres of the railway reserve sown in spring, 1917, withi the Hunter river variety, gave a yield pf hay of approximately 1.268 tons per acre, value £7 12s Id. Four acres on the county council reserve, adjoining, sown in 1918 with Marlborough variety, gave a yield as hay of approximately 0.888 tpns per acre, value £5 6s 6s per acre.

These preas, in our opinion, have demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that lucerne can be profitably grown with little expense on these light and poor lands by adopting a system under which these were carried out- The system is so simple, •yet so effective when closely followed, that large areas of similar country producing little at present could be brought quickly to produce like results.

There cab be no question whatever regarding the success pf all these de-, monstration areas, and that no other crop or crops could be grown, on such lands to approach in quantity, quality, or value. Therefore, in our opinion, every effort should be made to .continue these on the lipes hitherto adopted, and conduct all operations at the proper time in regard to cultivation, cutting, and grazing, retaining them in a proper condition, and as a sample of what can be done to enable the farming community .to take heart and go and produce likewise.

It now remains for those responsible not to slacken interest in these demonstrations, which are amongst the most valuable to the farming community that have been undertaken by the Department of Agriculture.