BLUE LUPINS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 September 1938, Page 3

BLUE LUPINS

USEFUL FOR BUILDING UP SOIL FERTILITY SUPPLEMENTARY FOOD FOR SHEEP. POSSIBILITIES REVIEWED. Blue lupins are grown for the purpose of building up soil fertility and also for providing sheep feed, states an agricultural bulletin issued by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. The plant is an annual which is particularly suitable for growing on light sandy soils. It has been used extensively for building up the fertility of such soils in Europe but there is no need to restrict the crop to light sandy soils as it can be grown to advantage over a wide range of soil types. Lupins grow well on soils which are deficient in lime. The area devoted to this crop is relatively small and could with advantage be considerably increased. During the 1936-37 season there were only 1270 acres grown for feed and green manure and 380 acres harvested for seed. Of this area over 80 per cent was grown in Canterbury and about 12 per cent in the Nelson district. GREEN MANURE. Most farmers are aware of the need for legumes as a means of maintaining or increasing the fertility of arable land. Where conditions are suitable a good crop of lupins ploughed under as green manure offers one of the quickest methods of building up the fertility of light soils or of restoring the fertility of overcropped medium to heavy soils. A large amount of organic matter with a high nitrogen content is added to the soil, but even if the crop is not ploughed under but fed off instead, soil fertility is increased and the physical condition improved. This latter effect is often reflected in the easier ploughing and less working which a field requires after a crop of lupins. A crop of lupins which has been sown for feed but which is not required for this purpose, can often be ploughed in for green manure, but when sown for green manure a sowing of from 1J to 2 bushels of seed per acre is usually drilled shallow in 7in rows with lcwt of super. A big bulk of green stuff is desired and for this reason a fairly heavy seeding with super is recommended. Sowing can take place in early autumn and a heavy bulk of green stuff will be ready for ploughing under in spring in preparation for a spring-sown crop. Shaken seed from a crop harvested for seed will strike well in a favourable autumn and the resulting crop can be ploughed under in the autumn or early spring as desired. A crop can be sown in the spring and ploughed under in the summer or early autumn. When ploughing under a high crop the use of a drag chain will ensure that the crop is buried effectively. Before the succeeding crop is sown it is preferable and for some crops essential, that the ploughed under material should be well rotted. This may take from a week to a month or two according to the stage of maturity of the crop and to the moisture and temperature conditions in the soil.

SHEEP FEED. Lupins are frequently sown primarily for sheep feed. For this purpose they may be sown alone at the rate of 1| bushels per acre or in a mixture with other forage crops or with permanent grass- The time of sowing and the quantity sown is influenced by the purpose for which the crop is to be used. Some suitable sowings are as follows: — 1. With rape for summer and autumn feed. Sowing takes place in November at the rate of about 1 bushel of lupins and l|lbs of rape sown through alternate coulters with lcwt of reverted or basic super per acre. The rape is usually eaten first but by the time the rape is finished the sheep will have become accustomed to the lupins. Such a mixture ensures a crop of fattening feed if the rape is not a complete success and usually adds considerably to the bulk of feed secured from the field. 2. With turnips for late autumn and winter feed. This mixture has been extensively used with success on the light lands of Canterbury where in dry summers the turnip crop is often a partial or complete failure. Sowing takes place in December-January and about | a bushel of lupin is drilled through alternate coulters with 12-12 ounces of turnips and lcwt reverted or basic superphosphate. As in the mixture with rape, the turnips are eaten first but the sheep soon become accustomed to the lupins and by the time the turnips are finished the lupins are usually eaten hard back so that only a bare stalk about 3 inches high is left. 3. With Italian ryegrass for winter and spring green feed. This mixture consisting of a bushel of ryegrass and a bushel and a half of lupins is drilled in 7in rows with lcwt of superphosphate in February. The mixture of lupins and Italian ryegrass can form a useful supplementary feed under conditions where turnips are unreliable. This mixture also presents the possibility of seed production from the Italian ryegrass or the lupins. If the crop is grazed in such a manner that the lupins are completely consumed, the ryegrass, if shut up in October, may produce a fair yield of seed. If, however, the grazing is such that the lupins are only partially eaten and the crop is spelled from October or November, the lupins come away again and will flower and produce a seed crop as summer approaches. It is in this way that a seed crop is usually taken rather than by sowing directly for seed, production. If, however, direct sowing for seed production is desired, early spring (August) will produce a seed crop the following summer. HARVESTING OF SEED.

Harvesting for seed presents some difficulties owing to the ease with which the pods split with variations of temperature and moisture. The crop can be cut with a binder and stooked or it can be windrow with a pick up harvester. In either case a considerable loss of seed occurs. Stacking from the stooks or windrows as soon as possible will reduce the time the pods are exposed to the variations of moisture and temperature and will reduce losses. Owing to the fact that the seed sheds readily the crop is frequently cut on

the green side. Seed from such a crop will, in all probability, be low in germination, and careful enquiry as to the germinating capacity of seed is recommended. 4. With Algerian oats for winter and spring green feed. This mixture is also sown in February and a bushel of oats and one and a half bushels of upins is mixed and drilled in 7in rows with lcwt of super. The grazing is treated in much the same way as the Italian ryegrass mixture except that a crop of oats is unlikely after heavy winter and spring grazing on light land. However, if the lupins are not grazed hard they may recover when the sheep are removed in the spring and produce a crop of seed in the summer. 5. With permanent pasture. One quarter to one half a bushel of lupins can be sown fo act as a cover crop for new grass and provided the seeding is not so thick that a dense crop of lupins requiring heavy grazing results, the practice adds to the grazing value of the young sward and protects it during its early life. Lupins are liable to be killed by severe frosts at the stage when they are coming into flower. December sowings are likely to be frosted in May; March sowings are likely to be frosted in August if the crops are coming into flower at these periods. The frost damage may be such that the plants are killed or the top shoots may be browned off. In any case where frost damage occurs, the crop should be utilised if possible before a complete loss of feed results. Lupins are a crop which could be grown more extensively for building up the fertility of light land and for restoring the fertility of overcropped land. They are also a useful supplementary feed for sheep and can be sown with rape, turnips, greenfeed, or as a cover crop for young pasture. Sheep eat lupins readily when they become accustomed to them. The results of feeding trials show that lupins are a suitable winter feed for in-lamb ewes and that good crops from 18-20 in high will, with half to one pound of hay or chaff per day winter from 8 to 10 ewes per acre on light land.