GROWING CROPS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 October 1940, Page 9

GROWING CROPS

STEPS TO AVOID FAILURES 1 ( 1 AMPLE CULTIVATION NEEDED. ! ( IMPORTANCE OF ENSILAGE. 1 October is one of the busiest months ; of the year for farmers who are grow- ‘ ing crops. It is the main month in , many districts for the sowing of mangels, sugar bee{, carrots, the main j crop of potatoes, peas, vetches, blue , lupins for seed, pampas grass, and. to- . wards the end of the month maize, pumpkins, millet, linseed ,early rape , and chou moellier. Final cultivation ( work for these and other crops to be . sown in November should be completed with much despatch as possible. Three essential conditions for the , successful establishment of crops are: ' (1) Adequate, thorough and early cul- ' tivation; (2).the use of good seed sown , at the right time; and (3) the use of ’ sufficient manure of the right kind. Too frequently inadequate cultivation has been the cause of partial, or even complete, failure. All farmers intending to grow crops should take care to avoid this cause of crop failure. If a crop is worth growing at all it is worth growing well. It does not pay to skimp the amount of cultivation or manure required to produce, for example, a 50-ton crop of mangels when, by skimping, a 25-ton crop is produced. Good seed is, of course, essential since seed of a low germination will be the cause of a poor “strike,” while seed containing much impurity or seed of a poor strain or type will give an unsatisfactory crop. The sowing of sufficient manure with crops is necessary to secure proper establishment and development. The type and quantity of manure varies both with the crops anfci with the soil requirements, but generally speaking, a phosphatic dressing gives good results. Particularly heavy dressings are required with potatoes, mangels and sugar beet. DISEASE-FREE CROPS. Two useful and comparatively di-sease-free crops are chou moellier and mangels. Chou moellier is the least susseptible of the cruciferous crops to diseases and pests. If sown in October it may be fed off in February and used throughout the autumn period. If sown in December it may be utilised in the late autumn and throughout the winter. It is a useful fodder for all classes of stock and in this connection it could be more widely used for dairy cows on suitable soils. It is also used, though to a lesser degree than rape, as a. fattening crop for sheep and lambs. It may be cut and fed out, or it may be fed off in “breaks.” It is usually sown at the rate of Ijlb. to 21b. per acre m 7-inch up to 28-inch drills, depending on its intended use and whether intercultivation is to be given. From 2 to 3cwt. of phosphatic manure usually gives the best results though this may be increased on poorer land. Chou moellier should not be grown on very light or poor soils. Due to their high per acre yield on good land a greater area of mangels could with advantage be grown annually in New Zealand. They are particularly valuable oh dairy ‘farms and stud stock farms. They require more labour than some crops because of thinning, intercultivation, pulling and stacking operations, but heavy yields on suitable land make their culture worthwhile. Sowing should take place in October or November at the rate of 4 to Ribs, to the acre in rows 26 inches apart. A dressing of 4 to 6cwt. per acre of phosphatic manure (a mixture of superphosphate and blood and bone gives good results) is advisable with the possible addition of lewt. of kainit on some soils. RESERVES OF FEEDS. An ample supply of hay or of silage or of crops allows a better utilisation of pastures. In those periods of the year when growth is slight or negligible, the farmer with inadequate reserves of feed has to punish his pasture severely to the particular detriment of the better species of grasses and clovers. The severe grazing in turn causes a later growth of grass in the spiing. Consequently, less paddocks are shut up for hay or silage in that season, or

paddocks are shut up and cut at a later date, resulting in inferior quality hay or silage and a smaller aftermath. In other words, an insufficient reserve of feed tends to perpetuate itself and to cause inferior farm management.

In many parts of New Zealand this year the winter has been a relatively favourable one for grass growth. Such a favourable season gives farmers the opportunity not only to get ahead of their requirements of stock feed but also to improve their farm management. Reserves of feed may be built up, thus allowing a wiser use of pastures at all times of the year. In order to obtain the best silage from the best material, early closing and early cutting of the paddocks is essential. Late ensilage is an undesirable practice. The paddocks to be used foi haymaking should also be shut up before the end of October ready for cutting in November or December. For both hay and silage, the cured material should be made from leafy growth. Hay or silage made from woody or fibrous material is of value only as a roughage or as a maintenance ration for dry stock, whereas leafy hay or silage may be used with good results as a production ration for milking cows and for breeding ewes. An area of grass should be shut up for hay or silage that is sufficient to prevent the remaining pastures in use for grazing purposes from becoming too rank and mature for their best utilisation. It is better to save such grass as hay or silage rather than to let it go to waste as roughage. It is profitable to make the first cut of lucerne into silage. The weather is usually more uncertain at this period of the year and the first cut contains a bigger proportion of weeds. If a paddock of grass is available at the same time for ensilage, this could be ensiled in conjunction with the lucerne.