ESTABLISHMENT OF RYE GRASS

Putaruru Press, Volume II, Issue 56, 20 November 1924, Page 4

ESTABLISHMENT OF RYE GRASS

tri'ldll WAIKATO EXPERIENCE. (Contl'ibu ted.) With the improvement of our Upper Waikato farm lands it yearly becomes clearer that we have misjudged the value to us ot rye Brass. Dissatisfied with our first earlv sowings of rye on the raw land we concluded that our class of country would not grow it to profit. During the first few months after sowing it would throw a fair quantity of feed but seldom was a good colour and took the first opportunity to run to seed and disappear. With the consolidation of our pastures, however, and the encouragement given by a little topdressing- and grass harrowing, rye is again appearing in our paddocks. Consolidation, topdressing and increased stocking- is evidently the secret of success. Tn future sowings we will again increase the weight of rye grass. One or two farmers whose faith in rye never failed are nowprofiting by it. Cows can be fed on the best cocksfoot and clover paddock on the farm, but take them off that and put them on the paddock where the largest percentage of the feed is rve and their milk yield will at once increase from 10 to 15 per cent. A moment of cautious hesitation, however, will be just as well before we decide on what might be a too free use of rye. This grass is a gross surface feeder and a rapid exhauster of available soil fertility. Cocksfoot on the other hand is a deep-rooting and largely self-supporting grass. Close a cocksfoot paddock and this <>rass would grow ranker and ranker each succeeding year and leave the soil richer than it found it. A wise use of the deep-rooting- cow grass is also recognised as one of the best means of breaking in our raw' lightsoil country, but remembering these ! two and giving them their right place in our farming economy it is also clear that we can make a very considerable use of rye grass as well-