A Farmer’s Notebook GOOD FARMING WEATHER

Southland Times, Issue 24231, 14 September 1940, Page 12

A Farmer’s Notebook GOOD FARMING WEATHER

Cultivation Well Forward

PRODUCTION OF OATS IN SOUTHLAND

SOWING OF 19,000 ACRES DESIRED In Western Southland a large area of ploughed land is to be seen, and it is evident that farmers have made plans to respond to the call for increased production. It is doubtful if spring weather has ever been so favourable for the preparation of ground for crops. The contrast in the weather compared with the spring of 1939 has been remarked upon by a number of farmers, and many of them are so far forward with their cultivation that they are able to attend to the exacting work of lambing ewes without the usual worry of cropping land. Southland is famous for its production of high quality oats and exceptionally big yields, some of which have been at the rate of 150 bushels to the acre; on much of the good land 100 bushels to the 'acre is regarded as an average crop.

This season a considerable increase in the area for oats has been asked for, 10,000 acres being required specially for threshing for milling purposes. In addition to this there are the areas that farmers require for stock feeding purposes. As a rule the time for sowing oats is arrived at by past experience, but in general early sowing is practised on the lighter lands and later sowings on heavy soils. In recent years there has been a marked tendency on heavy fertile soils for oat crops to suffer from a weakness in the straw, with the result that many crops have “lodged,” which made harvesting operations difficult and costly

INCREASED FERTILITY , The growing of oat crops with sufficient strength of straw to maintain heavy heads of grain and withstand the effect of wind after misty rain, is being accomplished by fewer farmers. It is a natural reaction to adequate liming and topdressing of pasture land which builds up fertility through increased growth of clover and larger quantities of animal manure from the extra stock carried. Clovers act as a nitrogen factor in the soil; also, indirectly, large quantities of animal manure produce a considerable amount of nitrogen. The humus content of stock droppings is a most favourable home for notrifying bacteria, and the nitrogen they create, in conjunction with that supplied through clover, is often sufficient to outbalance the available phosphate and potash content on heavy soils that have been regularly limed and topdressed. Many farmers are anxious to find a remedy for preventing the “lodging” of grain crops. The first step in that direction is to realize that the usual cause of the trouble is high nitrogen content in the soil. The use of potash in the form of potassic super has proved to be an effective corrective, and many farmers on heavy, fertile soils have adopted the practice with very satisfactory results. Potash strengthens the cell structure of the straw, and the superphosphate produces a stronger rooting system. Unfortunately potash is practically off the market as the result of the war; therefore, farmers will of necessity need to study and adopt other ways and means of overcoming “lodging” in oat crops. There is one method that is not as widely known as it should be; it has proved a very effective solution of the problem, and full particulars of it are to be found in the August issue of the Journal of Agriculture under the heading of “Oat varieties in Southland,” by Mr W. L. Harbord, fields instructor at Invercargill. Every farmer • who has been troubled with weak straw in oats could well study it to advantage.

The main point is that some varieties of oats grow straw much more rigid than others. Gartons Abundance, _ a high-yielding oat of good quality grain, has in the past season been grown to

a greater extent than any other. However, in recent years many strains of this variety have developed weakness of straw. Farmers who wish to avoid the trouble would do well to change , over to Gartons Onward. This oat has j a very strong straw; in some cases the straw is so coarse that it has been unsuitable for chaff. For threshing purposes it has the merits of earliness, and quality in the grain, and with few exceptions has stood up well. For chaffing purposes Resistance oats are very satisfactory. In an oat variety trial on the Winton Experimental Farm this variety was the only one to stand up. It is not favoured by millers as the sample of grain is somewhat uneven; .therefore it cannot be recommended for threshing purposes. Its advantages are that it is the least susceptible to “lodging” of any of the more common varieties of oats grown. It yields up to 100 bushels to the acre on good soil, and the straw is of fine texture. Summarizing the qualities of Resistance oats Mr Harbord comments as follows.—“As a chaff oat this variety must certainly gain in favour, for it has those splendid characteristics which allow a first-class quality chaff, reduce the risk of involved harvesting operations, and reduce the risk of havinx the grain shaken.”

WEAK STRAW Dun oats are rarely considered for spring sowing. They produce splendid chaff, but frequently suffer from weak straw and the seed is easily shaken out. The Huskless variety has lost favour with most farmers who have tried it. Its disadvantages are that it shakes easily; is subject to severe attacks from I birds; is usually weak in the straw and often fails to germinate satisfactorily. All grain crops draw heavily upon supplies of plant food and the use of 2 cwt to 3 cwt of fertilizer with them is general practise; the smaller quantity is suitable for heavy fertile soil and the larger for poorer types of soils. With little or no potash available, the choice of fertilizer rests between superphosphate, reverted super, and mixed grain fertilizer.' One of Britain’s foremost fertilizer experts, Sir John Russell, of Rothamsted Experimental Station, has stated that grain crops cannot utilize insoluble fertilizers and they only have the power of absorbing water soluble elements. In practice in this country this information has proved correct with the result that water soluble phosphate in the form of superphosphate is most generally used for oat crops.