Control of the Soil

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 258, 21 January 1928, Page 25

Control of the Soil

WIDE RANGE OF FERTILITY A Problem for the Farmer IN the quality and condition of his pastures the farmer I should be able to read the needs of the soil Every soil deficiency is registered in the growth and development of the plant and unless these are remedied the farmer s profits will start on the decline.

Most pastures register a considerable range of fertility, particularly when a comparison is made of those under different management. It is not necessary to go to another district to rind vast differences in the make-up of the various soils. This is practically always registered in the plant life and pasture plants, generally, adhere to a very decided rule as far as fertility requirements are concerned. In some fields can be found a considerable range of fertility ranging from excellent ryegrass and white .lover swards down to an inferior .overing of stunted cocksfoot (or even lower grade grasses), in a very dirty rendition, with perhaps the only clover showing being suckling—commonly known as trefoil. Thus we find in the higher grades of soils, which have either not been , >rked out to have been maintained by top-dressing, that thc» better

grasses, commonly known as English, do well. Immediately the fertility of rhe soil drops to a certain point, however, they begin to go out, and plants with a lower fertility requirement come in to take their place. The condition pf the soil, therefore, can always be Judged very accurately by a careful study of the plants constituting the pasture, fertility always being of a standard suitable to the plants throwing the greatest amount of feed; in other words, the dominant grasses. Our common pasture grasses can be grouped according to their fertility requirements in the following order: Group I.—Poa Aquatica, Floating Sweet Grass. Timothy, Poa Trivialis, and Meadow Foxtail. Group 2.—Ryegrass (perennial). Group 3.—Cocksfoot. Crested Dogstail and Poa Pratensis. Group 4.—Brown Top. Group s.—Danthonia. Group 6.—Ratstail. Group 7—Che wings Fescue. The clovers can be placed into two groups: Group I.—Red Clover. Alsike, -White and Lotus Major. Group 2.—Subterranean, Suckling (trefoil) and Lotus Hispidus.

Naturally many of the grasses have iS r 5 L Wlde rai ?S e - b tit to get them to . id their maximum the above groiiping can be taken as accurate. Clovers are the first to feel the drop m soil fertility and suckling clover, w “* c b ls present in most of our soils, will show itself directly the fertility falls below white clover standard. The fact that this clover is on the increase in a pasture is a sure indication that white clover will disappear, and that not long after the perennial rye will begin to deteriorate. If this almost certain indicator is ignored, then the pasture bottom will quickly open out and weeds will come to fill the vacant spaces. It is here that the farmer who knows his job steps in anti, with the application of the required fertilisers, makes up the deficiencies in the soil, thus restoring its fertility. It is a gratifying fact that the lesser • grasses

and clovers seldom stand competition, and become subsidiary to the more useful plants as soon as conditions become suitable. The question of economically maintaining soil fertility is one which is taxing the minds of most Mew Zealand farmers to-day. On many of our poorer classes of soils, especially in some, parts of the North Auckland district. farmers, in many instances, are faced with financial ruin unless they can find an economical means of bringing up the fertility of their soils. Luckily to-day the full burden of investigation is not left in the hands of the individual, but officers of the Agricultural Department are conducting experiments in all parts which must prove of inestimable worth to the embarrassed farmer. Irrespective of this, howfcvfer, it is essential that the man an t)ie land should use every endeavour to make a careful study of the soil ancl plant requirements. Such a study would go a long way toward fitting him for his battle with nature In the seemingly endless struggle to make returns show a reasonable margin over expenditure.