CONTINUOUS WHEAT GROWING.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 39, 10 December 1920, Page 4

CONTINUOUS WHEAT GROWING.

In view of the soil exhausting demarids of wheat its continuous cropping in some localities in tfte Dominion is a matter for some surprise. Parts of the Rangitikei district, in the North Island, provKie an illustration in the matter of continuous oat-growing, and in a few instances wheat, and it has been suggested that this district could have done a good deal more in amplifying the wheat supplies of' the Dominion during the shortage. A Home paper to hand records a very interesting fact in connection with continuous experinrents at Rothamstcad, demonstrating that wHito-straw crops can follow one another with out deterioration of the land for any number of years. There, wheat has been grown cohtinuously on the same land for 73 years, with only two season's break for fallow, and barley has been grown for 63 years, with only one season's faliow. 'mere has been some falling off on the unmanu red land in the case of wheat, though less than migbt have been expected — but a P'ot supplied with farmyard nxanure shcwed a rise from 28 bushels for the first eight years to an average of 35 bushels in the last ten years. In the case of fully-manured land, it has been proved that no falling off in yleld need be anticipated. While the advantages of rotations will never be questioned, what the Ministry of Agriculture in drawing attention to these experimental results wish to emphasise, is that there are large areas of clay where the possibility of introducing some system of continuous wlieat growing, in which hot-h grain and straw will be sold, is worthy of serious consideration, especially in counties where there is a ready sale f5r straw. It is suggested that the only real difficulty lies in keeping the land clean and in getting through the necessary cultivation in the short period between the harvesting of on® crofi and the sowing of the next.