NEW IDEAS IN PASTURE FARMING

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 332, 13 January 1937, Page 2

NEW IDEAS IN PASTURE FARMING

WORK OF ENGLISH INSTITUTIONS.

INCREASING DEMAND FOR YOUNG GRASS.

COMMERCIAL VALUE OF NON-FATTENING PASTURES

STEADILY DECLINING.

Advice is supplied to all parts ol the world by the University Collegi of Wales, at Aberystwyth, upor problems connected with grassland it ft'co-operating with the Colonia: Office with regard to experiments it the Falkland Islands, and it keeps it Close collaboration with grassland investigations and researches in New Zealand ‘and Australia. A numbet of institutions and individuals are testing its strains in Natal, Kenya Colony, the United States, and elsewhere. An interesting account of the ifeofk at Aberystwyth is given in the latest, university survey, of the wort Of. fti various agricultural departments. ' * Plant Breeding. -- The Plant Breeding Station deals especially with the Improvement of grassland. "The pivot upon which all turns is plant breeding, and for this chief reason,” it is stated in-the survey. “The long-duration ley taken over a whole farm is the surest means of maintaining the grassland of that farm in a condition at bnce healthy to animals, and in the highest state of productivity. This statement may seem to savour of dogmatism but evidence would appear to be accumulating every year in support of the view. We have not only the evidence of yield data and of chemical analyses, but also, that from the behaviour of the animals themselves. More than this, mqdern tendencies r »eein - likely to make ever-increasing demands on early and young grass, Sad upon cruciferous and similar cWpsf -upon Which young animals can ‘fee rapidly. brought to a condition '-Suitable for the butcher. Non-fattening Pastures. “Old and outrun, ‘late,’ and nonfattedlng pastures have probably less commercial value than ever before. * If the plough is brought into requisition, pastures with the ability to fatten can now be produced Under Conditions and on situations that ■ previously hav e only been thought suitable for carrying store animals. ‘The fact is that the plough and good grassland go absolutely hand-in-hand, -and In this connection it should be emphasised that to plough for high arable farming Is one thing, w-hile to plough to maintain a proper sequence .of young grass Is very much an--Dthfr thing. The tractor and the roughest of ploughing are often all that Is needed for the latter purpose. “With improved and altogether better Strains of grasses and clovers, ail entirely hew set of possibilities is opened up with regard to , the Utilisation of much of the grassland in districts Which, really because of •Ong neglect, have earned the somewhat unenviable reputation of being Ohly highly suitable, or even excellent, for store animals. Because the plough is perhaps the best friend of grassland, and especially of the poor- - est grassland, oats are almost as important as the grasses and clovers in any well conceived planning for the wholesale improvement of our grasslands. The oat is an excellent flrst crop when breaking up old pastures, but we want very hardy oats for these poor conditions, and good standing varieties, particularly so if seeds mixtures are to be sown under them. Hardiness and standing abilities are two of the chief matters borne constantly in mind in all our I breeding work with oats. How to Manage the Plant. “After the suitability of the plant for the purposes for which it is required—and to provide the most suitable plants is the function of the plant breeder—comes the question of how to manage the plant when the seed is once sown. In the grassland connection this question of management opens up endless problems. There is the whole problem of seeds mixtures: the best strain in the world will be without avail unless sown in a mixture which gives it a proper chance. There is the whole question of manures and manuring; and. above all, and determining almost everything, Is the control of the gracing animal. “It la one thing to manure to help sedllngs to establish themselves, another to manure for a good hay crop, and yet another to manure for a steady continuation of pasture grass. Seeds, seedlings, and adult plants must be studied at all stages of growth and of development; palatAbillty and nutritive valu e and the factors which influence them must be completely unnerstood. The pre-

sent status and usefulness of the different species of grasses, clovers, and miscellaneous herbs must be determined. The work is far from finished when the plant breeder has produced a new and super-strain; there remains the question of the best and most economical means of seed production, and at all stages and at every turn the ravages of plant diseases have jto be taken into account. "Maximum Growing Leaf.’’ “The problem of grassland is, therefore, how under all conditions and at all times to produce the maximum amount of actively-growing leaf —what to sow- to this end; what manures to use and, most important of all, how to control the animals. As a further result of the co-opera-tion with Professor Fagan we know that the nutritive value of clover is higher than of grass, and this has been confirmed in trials with sheep. The necessity of maintaining a just ratio between clover and grass is therefore all-important, and this is a matter demanding a great deal of investigation. Up to the present, and because of the limitations of space, we have only been able to emiploy sheep in our experiments. So far we have advanced a good way further in cur studies of the reaction of the sward to the animal than of the animal to the sward.”