A Farmer’s Notebook NEED FOR BIG YIELDS

Southland Times, Issue 24243, 28 September 1940, Page 12

A Farmer’s Notebook NEED FOR BIG YIELDS

More Production In Southland

IMPORTANCE OF SOIL MANAGEMENT

For profit from cropping we must have big yields to the acre; we are not likely to go broke producing big yields but we may by producing small yields. Economical production has as much to do with the profit as has the price of the product, and we cannot produce much nor produce economically without a productive, fertile soil. The slogan “Increased production in war time” has been generally adopted by farmers in Southland. There is an old and very true saying that an army fights on its stomach, and it applies with equal force to the Air Force and the Navy, also to the civilian population, which has much front line work to do in modern warfare.

Farmers in this country, so far unmolested by actual warfare, have the privilege of producing foodstuffs for the Motherland in peace and quietness. In Southland strenuous efforts are being made by farmers to increase production. Evidence of this is to be seen in country districts in the form of large areas of ploughed land which are in the course of preparation for crops.

IMPORTANT POINTS Good soil management, in the sense of maintaining fertility and productivity, depends upon a number of relatively simple practices. Broadly, four things are of first importance: (1) Suitable tillage; (2) maintaining the supply of organic matter, principally by the use of proper rotations and cover crops, including legumes; (3) correcting soil acidity in the humid regions; and (4) providing an adequate supply of phosphorus. In some areas and for special crops there are special problems associated with water supply, drainage, nitrogen, potash and certain trace minerals. Accurate analysis of the conditions that make this or that practice desirable, however, is often difficult, especially in a province where the type of soil and the weather vary a good deal. Nor is it easy to work out variations in details that make so much difference in economical operation. All soils have one thing in common and that is that they can be encouraged to produce maximum yields by full exploitation of the art of cultivation — or tillage. The original meaning of the word tillage was “to work the soil.” A study of ancient and medieval history on the production of _ crops will show that good, careful cultivation and working of soil before sowing, was the foundation of success. Since the advent of modern fertilizers less than 100 years ago, there has been a gradual tendency for farmers to rely more upon them, and to some extent the importance of good cultivation has receded into the background.

THE SEED BED It is possible that this season some farmers may be tempted to reduce the work of preparing a seed bed to a minimum on account of a shortage in supplies of petrol and labour. In the interests of economical and increased production such a course would not be a wise one. Oil fuel controllers are prepared to make available supplies of petrol or kerosene in sufficient quantity to ensure proper cultivation of ploughed land. Tillage has three main purposes. The preparation of a suitable seed bed, destruction of plants that would compete with growing crops, and improvement in the physical condition of the soil.

Under the right conditions it may help to conserve nitrogen or make it more quickly available, control plant diseases, and insects, save moisture, and prevent erosion by wind and water. The amount, the time, and the kind of tillage are all of vital importance, but they depend upon climate, lay of the land, soil, crop and type of farming, and no general rule applies. In humid districts subject to erosion and leaching, for example, the soil should have a plant cover during dormant rainy seasons to prevent erosion; in certain dry areas the land should be left bare to collect and conserve moisture. Correct cultivation of the soil is an art with which many farmers in Southland are familiar. Preparatory cultivation can be seen each year in its highest form at annual ploughing matches in a number of districts. Most of the primary tillage operation—ploughing—was complete early in the season and cultivation at present is largely in its secondary stages. Harrowing may be termed the secondary operation, the purposes of which are to level the ploughed soil, fine and compact it, and destroy weed seedlings. The disk harrow is probably the most useful of all harrows, ranking next in importance to the plough. Disking pulverizes the soil, reduces large air spaces, and helps to form the seed bed.

LINEN FLAX As the result of experience most farmers in this province have a good knowledge of the methods of cultivation required for the usual crops, such as wheat, oats, yellow turnips, swedes, chou moellier, rape and kale and the sowing down to grass. The introduction of the linen flax industry has presented a new problem to a number of farmers, who intend to grow the crop for the first time.

Linen flax seed is small and requires to be only lightly covered with soil; an inch is the maximum depth for it. The reduction of soil to a fine tilth is very necessary to enable a firm compact seed bed to be formed and to ensure an even covering of the seed. The use of the roller is essential before sowing, and where cross drilling is to be practised the land should be rolled before the second lot of seed is sown, but •no rolling should be done after the final lot of seed is drilled in. Where farmers are in doubt about the quantity of reverted super required for each acre, the amount needed for the production of good oat crops is a reliable guide. Land in average heart will need about 2cwt to the acre and less fertile areas may require up to 3cwt to the acre. As the linen flax crop is harvested for fibre about six weeks before the full crop of seed has fully ripened, the withdrawal of plant food is nothing like as heavy as with a linseed crop harvested for seed purposes. Thorough tillage and careful preparation of a fine firm seed bed is of the greatest importance for the linen flax crop.