SEED CERTIFICATION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 December 1938, Page 7

SEED CERTIFICATION

PRODUCTION IN WAIRARAPA VERY LIMITED/' W SCHEME NOT EXPLOITED. “Judging by the number of entries from the Wairarapa in the Department of Agriculture’s seed certification scheme it is obvious that seed production in this district is not being exploited as fully as it deserves to be,” said Mr N. Lamont. Fields Instructor of the Department of Agriculture, this morning. “As there are few pastures,” he said, “that do not go to seed at this time of the year, farmers might just as well take seed off them and make up to £5 per acre additional income. Moreover.” he added, “the future production of pastures will be enhanced both in regard to quantity and quality as the result of cutting.” Mr Lamont went on to state that the areas in the Wairarapa entered for seed certification were: Perennial rye-grass, mother seed, 31 acres; permanent pasture, 67 acres; Montgomery red clover, 7 acres; wheat, 68 acres. These figures, he added, showed that lhe district did not do much in the way of seed production, unless there was a greater area than usual being utilised for the commercial grade of seed. There would be no idea until the end of the season as to how much land was actually being shut up for commercial seed. During the course of a discussion on the position, said Mr Lamont, a local merchant observed that in view of complaints about ■ the relative unpalatability of Hawke’s Bay certified rye-grass it was a wonder that more seed was not grown in the Wairarapa. Mr Lamont, making some reference to the matter of unpalatability, said there was no question that permanent strains were less palatable than temporary strains. He was by no means convinced that the unpalatability of the certified type was as serious as some griziers claimed; neither was there any evidence that any particular district offended any more in this respect than any other district. There was no question in many cases, said Mr Lamont, that unpalatability was due to management and resulted from allowing pastures to become rank and overgrown, whereas in other cases it was due to the absence of vigorous clover in the pasture. That often arose with the growth of so-called natural .•lovers which came without sowing and weie of a much poorer type than lhe certified strains Usually, where certified perennial rye-grass was established with certified white clover of lhe same grade no trouble with palatability arose. Late sowings on a poorly-consolidated seed bed were frequently responsible for a poor establishment of clover and consequent unpalatability, at any rate for the first two or three years of the pastures.