PASTURE MANAGEMENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1040, 2 August 1930, Page 27

PASTURE MANAGEMENT

Conservation Of Feed And Use Of Fertilising Agents Normally during June the grasslandfarmer is busy carrying on important work which was started earlier in the season. If harrowing and top-dressing have not been completed, then these two tasks will call for attention. On most farms there are certain paddocks which are more suitable than the others for providing late-winter and carly-spring feed. A special point should be made of harrowing and top-dressing such pnddnclis in good time. Usually the paddocks which are suitable in this connection are those which are well drained and covered with a pasture containing a considerable amount of ryegrass, and possibly also are provided with shelter. Young pastures recently sown, at times being soft, are prone to be unduly broken up, with harmful effects if used much for winter nd spring grazing, and they should not >e used more than is necessary for ueventing the growth becoming detrimentally long. With such pastures the aim should be to obtain a happy balance in respect to severity of grazing—to prevent the growth becoming so long as to bring about undesirable shading of any species, particularly tlic more slowly establishing ones, and at the same time to graze not more closely than will serve to avoid the harmful hading effect, and in such a way as to minimise as much ns possible “poaching” of the ground. If a farm possesses pastures showing evidence of current infestation with grass-grub, then, when possible, hay and roots should be fed out on the infested areas; the additional stocktrampling and consolidation which results is not to the liking of the grubs, and the hay may contain viable seeds of valuable pasture species, which on germinating will tend to repair the ravages of the grubs and thus build up the pastures again, states the Journal ol \griculture. Use of Lime and Phosphates. It is not generally advisable to nppb soon after each other lime in any oi .ts forms and any of that group of phosphate* which are chemically alike md which include raw rock phosphates. Island phosphates, and African phosphates. These phosphates are all reiaively low in availability to crops and slow in their action, and become more markedly so when used on land which lias received lime. Riming carried out in close time proximity to the application of basic slag may be expected to reduce the speed of action of the slag When the question arises whether lime ;hould be applied before phosphates or phosphates before lime in the same season, it may he taken as a general rule .hat it is preferable to do the liming first. But it is doubtful whether it matters much which material is applied Irst. From inquiries received it is Hear that some farmers are inclined to look upon lime as a suitable substitute or alternative for phosphates. This is not the case; lime may at times ;erve to make phosphates more effective and profitable, but it will not fill the function of the phosphates. In many districts pastures (particularly those containing a good deal of rye-grass) if shut up towards the end if May or early in June will provide a substantial amount of fresh grass towards the end of July and during Vugust. The amount of July-August feed obtainable in this way can be increased by the use of nitrogenous manires on the g nssland, but whether such use of nitrogenous manures will prove profitable depends on a number of circumstances which vary, from farm to arm. For instance, if a suitable pasture containing a good deal of rye-grass is available, the use of nitrogenou:* manure is more likely to prove profitable on it than on an old pasture confining little rye-grass. Again, :f a farmer is faced with the likelihood of a shortage of winter feed the use of nitrogenous manure is apt to be of nuch more value to him than were he Tetter supplied with v» inter feed.

The shortest road to good health is the “milky way.”—St. Lawrence Dairy Chats.