CONTROL OF WEEDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 992, 7 June 1930, Page 31

CONTROL OF WEEDS

DEPARTMENTAL EXPERIMENTS Special to THE SUN WELLINGTON, Friday. Ten years ago, a man who imagined that he owned 100 acres of first-class land, really held only 90 acres that were of any use. The rest, if the land was pasture, was taken up with weeds. Even today, with pasture management much more scientific, there are five or six acres of weeds in every 100 which a farmer imagines to be first-class country. This fact emerges from a consideration of the new technique of attacking weeds which is being made by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. During the last few years much attention has been given to weed control, which has improved very little when set beside the manner in which management of farming has gone ahead. Weeds are still a farmer’s worst enemies, and if they could be tackled effectively, the production of the Dominion would show a great increase. At least 20 to 25 per cent, of second-class land is taken up with weeds and in many cases the average rises to 35 and 45. per cent. Great hopes are held of the new technique of dealing with weeds, experiments with which have been under the charge of Mr. J. W r . Deem, Director of the Fields Division at Palmerston North. The experiments which he lias been conducting, with sodium and calcium chlorate, were pioueered in. this country by Dr. Kilgendorf, at the Lincoln Agricultural College, and the possibilities of such a method have been recognised abroad for some two or three years. Mr. Deem has been charged with the task of applying Dr. Hilgendorf’s discovery in practice and it is hoped that the formula which is being evolved will prove effective, if not with all weeds, at least with the most dangerous to the farmer.