FARMING, ARABLE

Of the 21 million acres of improved land in New Zealand, only about 1¼ million acres are used each year for the growing of crops. More than two-thirds of these crops provide supplementary feeding on the farm and under 400,000 acres produce crops for sale. Grass and clover seeds for sale are taken from less than 200,000 acres of land used during most of the year for grazing.

The importance of the cropping programme cannot be measured by the relatively small area of land used for it. This programme supplies valuable human foodstuffs and a large pasture-renewal programme is maintained almost entirely on the grass and clover seeds harvested. At the same time a large quantity of these seeds, as well as garden-pea seeds, is available for export. In the recognised arable-farming districts where the life of pastures is limited by climate, cropping is a means of renewing pastures effectively and economically.

Of far greater importance are supplementary feed crops in maintaining stock-carrying capacity at critical times when pasture growth is insufficient. Where rainfall is high and the season for pasture growth is longer it is possible to manage with the use of hay and silage made during times of surplus pasture growth. In the drier and colder areas, however, the necessity for other feed is more evident, and arable farming becomes important. Over half a million acres of crops are grown in Canterbury each year and almost 200,000 acres each in Otago and Southland. In contrast, under 300,000 acres of crops are grown in the whole of the North Island.

Fodder Crops

Nearly 750,000 acres of brassicas and some 50,000 acres of cereals are grown for supplementary feed crops each year. There is also some winter and early spring grazing from much of the area of autumn-sown wheat and oats (perhaps 125,000 acres), which is grown primarily as a grain crop.

Turnips and Swedes: These two crops, similarly managed and used, are fairly widely grown throughout New Zealand. Swedes and yellow-fleshed turnips do best under cool, moist conditions, as they make most of their growth in the later part of the season. They are used almost entirely for winter feeding.

These crops are more commonly grown in the southern districts, particularly Southland, and to some extent in the cooler and moister districts in the North Island. White-fleshed turnips can be grown more successfully during the warmer seasons of the year, as they are more tolerant of dry and sunny weather. They are used not only for winter feeding (for which they are widely grown in Canterbury) but also for late-summer feeding, particularly in dairying districts where pasture growth suffers in dry summers. Turnips and swedes yield heavy crops on well drained soils containing ample organic matter and having an even supply of moisture. But they are so valuable for supplementary feeding that they are often grown under less suitable conditions where yields may be only a quarter of those grown under ideal conditions.

Some crops may be used by pulling roots and carrying them out to stock. The more common method is to turn the cattle or sheep on to the area to feed off the growing crop in “breaks”. These are made by fencing off a large enough part of the crop to maintain the stock for 10 days to a fortnight. This method entails less labour than feeding out and is far less wasteful than allowing the stock to wander through the whole crop. In some districts the swede tops are used for fattening late lambs, after which the bulbous roots are eaten by adult sheep.

At one time all turnip and swede seed was imported from England, but during the Second World War seed was harvested locally and sufficient seed to meet local requirements has since been produced in New Zealand. Most of the varieties grown are similar to the main English ones, but two have been developed in New Zealand to meet local conditions. One, named “Calder”, resists attack by the mosaic virus; the other, “Wye”, resists attack by clubroot diseases. These diseases, with dry rot, are the main diseases of turnips and swedes. Work is being done to develop resistance to dry rot also.

Rape: This crop was once regarded as the best feed for fattening lambs, but the acreage is declining for two reasons: improved pastures have now made it possible to fatten many more lambs without any special fattening crop; and rape is so easily attacked by pests and disease that other crops are being grown instead. Rape is required primarily in lamb-fattening districts where summer grass production is low. Half the total acreage is in Canterbury and a quarter in Otago. In Hawke's Bay, once a big rape-growing area, it has been largely replaced by chou moellier. It is usual to feed rape in breaks to avoid waste. Grazed portions of the crop are closed to stock to conserve second growth for winter feeding. It was once common practice to provide a grass run-off to lambs grazing on rape, but now it is usual to confine them on rape entirely. White butterfly, diamond-backed moth, and cabbage aphid seriously infest rape, which is also subject to club-root disease. New Zealand produces enough rape seed for its needs. Two new varieties have been developed, one is resistant to clubroot, and the other to aphid infestation.

Chou Moellier and Kale: The green crops grown under these names are both members of the kale family; chou moellier is known in England as marrow-stemmed kale. The crop grown as kale in New Zealand is known in England as thousand-headed kale. Stock relish the stems of chou moellier, but this plant tends to drop its leaves during winter. Kale, while having a fibrous, unpalatable stem, is more hardy and carries its leaves well throughout the winter. Two-thirds of the total chou moellier crop is grown in the North Island. Kale (about only a tenth of the total chou moellier crop), is grown mostly in Southland and Otago. These crops are grown mainly for winter feeding, though chou moellier has come into favour recently as an alternative to rape for lamb fattening and as a cattle feed in late summer. Kale may be used similarly. Crops of chou moellier and kale which are not needed for late-autumn feeding can be reserved for use in winter. Crops lightly grazed in early summer will recover to provide winter feed. Kale and chou moellier crops are more resistant than other brassica crops to clubroot and dry rot and are not so subject to insect attack. Heavy crops of chou moellier are best cut and fed out as required, though less labour is needed if the cut crop is left to be eaten where it falls and the standing portion protected by an electric fence. If it is intended to feed the crop in breaks, fencing is made easier if swedes are drilled in the lines where the fences will later be placed.

Cereals: The area of cereals grown specifically for green feed is small compared with the area sown for a grain crop which is grazed at some stage as part of its management for grain. Oats are the main cereal grown specifically for green feed; some maize and barley are also grown, but very little wheat or rye. Maize, being frost tender, is grown almost entirely in the North Island, mainly in South Auckland. It is used as a supplementary feed in late summer, chiefly for dairy cows. The other cereals are used as additional feed during late autumn, winter, or early spring. They are sown in early autumn, frequently after the harvest of a grain crop. Half the acreage of green-feed cereals is grown in Canterbury and a quarter in Otago and Southland. If winter feed is plentiful, green-feed cereal crops (other than barley) which have been lightly grazed may be allowed to grow on for a chaff or grain crop in the following harvest. Autumn-sown cereal-grain crops are commonly grazed in early spring either to control rank growth and prevent later lodging, or because there is little other late-winter feed to keep stock in reasonable condition. Wheat and oats are the cereals most commonly managed in this way. Overgrazing of the crops at this stage may prejudice a satisfactory grain harvest later. A small acreage of cereals is grown for grain for feeding on the farm and about 20,000 acres of oats are grown for chaff, some of which will be home fed and some sold.

Cash Crops

The cereals (wheat, oats, barley, maize) and peas, potatoes, and linseed are the main cash crops grown in New Zealand. These crops are usually grown in a rotation, which includes fodder crops and a period in pasture, to make use of the fertility of the soil which is built up by growing of pasture and fodder crops to be eaten in the field. It is not the practice, as in some overseas countries, to grow cash crops exclusively without an intervening period in pasture. Unless soil is very fertile it is unusual to grow two cash crops (at least of the same kind) in succession; they are usually interspersed with a fodder crop. The number and kind of crops grown before the land is returned to pasture almost entails a separate decision for each paddock, based mainly on the fertility of the soil and the need for supplementary fodder crops.

Wheat: The area in wheat declined steadily for many years until 1958, which was the lowest recorded for 75 years. But the area has since more than doubled to about 200,000 acres, all of which is harvested for grain. Nearly 10 million bushels of wheat are used in New Zealand each year for flour, and similar uses, and 4 million bushels for feeding to stock and to poultry. The crop at present is about 8 million bushels and the balance is imported from Australia. Improved varieties recently introduced and the build up of soil fertility in recent years are now enabling wheat to yield an average of over 50 bushels per acre. Farmers generally aim to grow wheat after the breaking up of a pasture, or after a fed-off fodder crop or a crop of peas; they seldom grow wheat immediately after a previous grain crop. About three-quarters of the wheat crop is grown in Canterbury and North Otago. The crop there is sown in the autumn (April to June) and the summers are usually dry enough for easy harvesting. In South Otago, Southland, and the North Island it is usual to sow wheat in August or September. In these districts it is often difficult to harvest the grain in good condition. The usual method of harvesting is to head the crop directly with header harvester and bag the grain. In the drier districts handling of the grain in bulk, both at harvest and for storage, is becoming more popular. In bulk handling more care must be taken to see that the grain is dry enough to prevent heating in storage. In districts where weather is less favourable for harvesting much grain may be spoilt because it can not be harvested in dry condition, and thus grain driers are being increasingly used to dry the wheat after harvest and before storage.

Rapid changes are taking place in the preferences being shown for different wheat varieties. Aotea, which was released in 1958, was being grown on 80 per cent of the wheat area by 1961 and had almost entirely replaced Cross 7, the standard variety for many years. Aotea is heavier yielding than Cross 7, but, like it, resists lodging and produces flour satisfactory for baking. Other South Island varieties in 1961 included Arawa, a wheat of poorer baking quality but very suitable for the heavier wheat lands of South Canterbury and North Otago, and Hilgendorf, of high baking quality but generally poor yield. Gabo and Tainui were the main North Island varieties.

Since 1961 Aotea has waned in popularity in favour of two mildew-resistant selections of Cross 7 (1961) and Hilgendorf (1961) – which were made from the earlier susceptible selections – now known as Cross 7 (1935) and Hilgendorf (1947). The new releases yet retain the good qualities of those varieties. Rust-resistant selections of Gabo, known as Mengave and Gamenya, are replacing the former variety in the North Island. These three varieties were tried in Australia, but all the others have been produced for local conditions by the Crop Research Division of the Department of Scientific and Indusrial Research.

Oats: The growing of oats for chaff and grain is much less common now that tractors have almost entirely replaced horses. The chaff acreage has dropped in 20 years from 200,000 to under 20,000, and the grain acreage from 70,000 to 35,000. About 500,000 bushels of threshed grain are processed each year for breakfast foods and a little more than half that quantity is used for seed. The balance, of some 750,000 bushels, depending on the size of the harvest, is used for stock feed. Oats do not demand the same soil fertility as wheat. They may be grown on soils of lower fertility or after wheat in the rotation. Spring sowing of the crop is common in Otago and Southland, where nearly half the oats, both for chaff and for grain, are grown. Most of the grain from this area is used for processing, and the varieties are mainly Onward and Abundance. Canterbury grows almost half the grain and one-third the chaff. In this district autumn sowing is usual and the crops may be grazed in winter. The Algerian and Dun varieties are better suited to autumn sowing and winter grazing than Onward and Abundance. They have a finer straw and a coloured grain and are preferred for horse feeding as either grain or chaff. Algerian is preferred for sowing for green feed. The crop for grain may be harvested with the header either direct or out of the windrow, whereas the crop for chaff must be cut with the reaper and binder, stocked, and stacked for later chaffing. Some farmers stook and stack the crop in case it is needed for chaff in the winter, but if it is not required for that purpose they thresh it for grain in the spring. In a mild winter when feed is not scarce many crops sown for green feed may not be heavily grazed; they may then be kept for either chaff or grain. This practice can have a serious effect on the grain market in the following year.

Barley: Barley for grain is almost entirely spring sown and, because most of the grain is needed for malting, the crops tend to be concentrated in those districts known to produce grain of good malting quality. Barley for malting must be capable of high and rapid germination and those types are preferred which are of low nitrogen content, plump, and undamaged by threshing. About 2 million bushels of barley are needed each year for malting. The rest of the crop, apart from seed, is used in stock foods. As barley for grain is spring sown it can follow potatoes or a winter-feed crop in the rotation. Land which is fertile, but not too rich in nitrogen, and moist enough during the season, is preferred for this crop. Almost three-quarters of the barley-grain crop is grown in Canterbury with a relatively heavy concentration in the Ellesmere and Ashley Counties. The Waimea County in Nelson and the Manawatu County in the Wellington Land District are also favoured localities. As barley grown in the North Island is used entirely for stock feeding its malting quality is of no moment. Though the best malting barley is obtained by cutting and stooking the crop to allow it to condition before threshing, the header harvester is now widely used. It is better to thresh the barley out of the windrow rather than to head it directly. A selection from the Australian variety, Research, made by the Crop Research Division, takes up two-thirds of the acreage, the balance being made up mainly of the Danish variety, Kenia. Another Danish variety, Carlsberg, is being grown for feed grain because of its higher yield, but it is not acceptable for malting and brewing. A small area of Cape and Black Skinless varieties is grown, as seed of these varieties is in demand for sowing green-feed crops.

Maize: Maize demands a frost-free growing period. Thus maize for grain is concentrated in the northern parts of the North Island, mainly in the Gisborne and, to a lesser extent, the Bay of Plenty districts. Most of the grain is fed to poultry, though some, mainly home grown, is fed to pigs. The maize crop is a gross feeder and needs a well drained, highly fertile soil. River flats are generally well suited to maize growing. To obtain high yields maize needs to be sheltered from heavy wind, and should not be sown until the soil has warmed up in the spring. Mid-October is quite early enough. Unlike other cereals, which are sown moderately thickly in 7-in. drills, maize is sown thinly spaced in rows usually 36 in. apart, the aim being to have one plant established in each 8–10 in. of row. The crop does not mature until late autumn, when mechanical pickers are used to pull the cobs from the plants and strip the husk. The cobs are then stored over winter in long cribs open to the air to dry out and mature before the grain is shelled from them. With the introduction of grain driers, an increasing proportion of the maize crop is being harvested and shelled in one operation, and the grain then artificially dried until it is of a sufficiently low moisture content for safe storage. Easily pollinated varieties were once widely grown, but today only one of these – Marigold – is grown to any extent. Doublehybrid seed is now widely used, much of it grown by the Department of Agriculture from parent material imported each year from the United States. The present hybrids are W575, W643, W647, and W690.

Peas: Garden varieties account for about three-quarters of the peas grown for threshing as ripe seeds. This seed is resown to produce green peas to be used fresh or preserved by canning or quick freezing. The rest of the crop is made up of field varieties, which are used dry for split peas and soup powders, for boiling, or for pigeon feeding. The inferior peas of both groups may be used in stock foods.

The pea crop is rather risky. As it will not withstand extremes of moisture it is best grown in a mild and dry climate and in a moisture-retentive soil. Garden varieties are affected by adverse conditions more than the field varieties. Nearly two-thirds of the peas for threshing are grown in Canterbury, and the balance in Marlborough and Wellington. Most of the crop is exported, mainly to Britain and Australia where it is used for seed. The garden varieties are usually grown by farmers under contract to merchants, who themselves are under contract to supply overseas buyers. A small portion of the crop is used locally.

Quality is important in all threshed peas. Contracting merchants take particular care to maintain a high standard of purity in their seed stocks, and most farmers rogue out off-type plants from their growing crops. The colour of the threshed peas is also important. This is generally best if the crop is cut when the top pods are just past their best for table use and left to condition in the windrow before threshing. Because of the risk of damage by rain and loss by wind, most growers, however, prefer to wait until the crop is fully ripe before cutting it, and then to pick it up immediately with the header harvester. Any shrivelled, cracked, discoloured, or off-type peas are removed in the subsequent machine dressing. The varieties Greenfeast, Onward, Victory Freezer, and William Massey are most widely grown for the garden-pea-seed trade. For boiling peas, soup powders, and sometimes for splitting, the Blue Prussian variety is used. Partridge is used for splitting and by pigeon fanciers overseas.

Linseed and Linen Flax: These two crops, used for widely different purposes, are of the same botanical species. By selection varieties of linseed are now grown which return heavy yields, rich in good quality oil, used mainly in the paint industry. The residue left from the extraction of oil makes a valuable concentrate for stock feeding. Linen-flax varieties have been selected on the basis of the yield and quality of the linen fibre contained in the straw, though the seed of these varieties can also be used for oil and stock feed. Linseed does not require special soils, though it succeeds best with a well distributed rainfall during growth, followed by dry conditions at ripening. For linen flax, uniformity, both of soil and of growing conditions, is essential to produce even, high-grade fibre. High soil fertility, though not harmful to linseed, produces in linen flax a coarse, harsh fibre. At present from 15,000 to 20,000 acres of linseed are grown each year, most of it under contract to an oil factory. The crop is grown mainly in Canterbury with a little also in Southland and Otago. Better soil fertility and higher yielding varieties have doubled the yields of linseed over those of 20 years ago. It is usual to direct-head linseed, but weedy or uneven crops are better windrowed and allowed to condition before threshing.

Linen flax was not grown in New Zealand until the early years of the Second World War when, within two seasons, the acreage increased to 20,000 and 17 processing factories were built. Since then the acreage has steadily declined, until now only about 700 acres are grown each year near the only remaining factory, at Geraldine, in South Canterbury. The crop is harvested at a rather earlier stage of growth than linseed, a special machine pulling the plants from the ground to obtain greater straw and fibre length. After the seed is removed the straw is retted and scutched to extract the fibre.

Potatoes: The growing of potatoes is more widely distributed than that of other cash crops because the product is perishable, and also there is the advantage of the considerable differences in harvesting periods in various districts. These differences in time are determined largely by the most risk in a district, as potatoes will not withstand frosting. Many householders grow some potatoes for their own needs. A little over 20,000 acres produce each year for marketing an average of 100,000 tons of table potatoes and 20,000 tons of seed potatoes. Many commercial growers produce their own seed. The average yield of potato crops varies considerably from season to season, so that, even with a constant planting, surpluses and shortages are likely from time to time. About two-fifths of the commercial crop is grown in Canterbury, about one-fifth in each – Auckland and Wellington, and smaller amounts in Hawke's Bay, Nelson, Otago, and Southland. Potatoes are grown in many types of soil, but they prefer a well drained, fertile silt loam which does not dry out unduly. The soil and its yield potential influence the choice of variety. Main-crop potatoes are usually planted in a rotation with other cash crops. They can follow almost any other crop, but are often planted after grass and before wheat. Crops for early marketing are often planted in rotation with vegetable crops, rather than with the recognised field crops.

In frost-free areas, like the Pukekohe district south of Auckland, the earliest plantings are made in April or May and harvesting of new potatoes for immediate sale begins in August. In the South Island, however, main crop potatoes are usually planted in October and harvested about May to provide potatoes until new ones are plentiful again. Other districts observe intermediate planting and harvesting dates. Many of these crops are dug at an immature stage for sale without storing. Spraying or dusting to prevent potato blight is a feature of the Pukekohe district where potato growing would otherwise be uneconomic. Commercial potato crops are almost all planted by mechanical planters. Mechanical diggers are used, but the tubers are usually picked up and bagged by hand. Crops for immediate sale may be dug immature, the state of the market often influencing the time of digging. Main-crop potatoes which are to be stored are left in the ground until the skins have hardened. They are stored in sacks in darkened sheds or in the open under a protective cover of straw, or loose in long clamps with a good straw cover. If potatoes are to be delivered for sale direct from the paddock they are sorted to size and grade as they are picked up. But if they are to be stored sorting may be left until the potatoes are being prepared for sale. Seed potatoes may be stored in more light than eating potatoes as greening of the tubers spoils table potatoes but benefits seed potatoes and checks excessive sprouting. Only a few of the many varieties of potatoes planted in New Zealand are grown commercially. Arran Banner and Ilam Hardy are the most widely used for early crops; Aucklander Short Top, Katahdin, and King Edward for mid-season harvesting; and Glen Ilam, Dakota, Sebago, and Arran Chief for late harvesting.

Production of Pasture Seed

The more important grass and clover seeds saved for pasture sowings are:

Over 60 per cent of the area harvested is in the Canterbury Land District, and 20 per cent in the Otago and Southland Land Districts. The North Island contributes under 15 per cent.

Areas most suited to grain harvesting are also preferred for the saving of grass and clover seed. The two activities are integrated in the arable-farming programme. The acreage closed for seed each year is governed both by seasonal conditions and by likely prices.

Ryegrass Seed: Similar practices apply to the saving of the three ryegrass species – perennial, short-rotation, and Italian. As these may all interpollinate, and as mechanical separation of the seeds is impossible it is important for seed production that only one species be sown in one area. Pastures for seed are established by the sowing of from 15 to 25 lb of ryegrass seed and 2 to 3 lb of white clover seed per acre. It is usual to sow rather more perennial seed than that of the other ryegrass species. Montgomery red clover or cowgrass seed may be used as an alternative to the white clover, particularly when Italian or short-rotation ryegrass seed is being sown. The grass benefits from the nitrogen-fixing habits of the clover and a higher producing and more palatable pasture results. It is usual to broadcast the seed on a moist, well consolidated seedbed after a fallow, but in dry districts it may be better to sow the seed through a 3½ in. centre-disc coulter drill. In the North Island sowings may be delayed until April or even May. In Hawke's Bay it is more usual not to sow any clover seed with ryegrass, as clover comes in strongly as a volunteer. In Canterbury February or March sowings are preferred; in Otago and Southland sowings are still earlier. It is usual, especially in the South Island, to apply a ton of lime to an acre just before sowing and a hundredweight of phosphatic fertiliser with the seed. The resulting pasture is stocked to control the growth and to allow white clover and ryegrass to become established. But unreasonably severe grazing may adversely affect the ryegrass. The final grazing before closing usually takes place in October, though strong-growing pastures on fertile soil are often not closed until November. After the final grazing the pasture may need topping with the mower to cut unevenly grazed patches and to even up the sward. At this stage nitrogenous fertiliser will stimulate the ryegrass and benefit the seed crop. Ryegrass is ready to harvest usually in early January, when the first seeds have begun to shake. The best method of harvesting, particularly in heavy crops, is to cut the crop with the reaper and binder and tie it into fairly small sheaves, which are then stooked for 10 to 14 days before threshing. The more common practice, however, is to windrow the crop either with the mower (or with a reaper with its binding mechanism removed) and to use the header to thresh the crop out of the windrow. Light crops may be directly headed, but the seed then needs to be spread out evenly for drying before it is bagged tightly. This is a more useful practice in second-year crops which have been managed primarily for white-clover seed, but contain some ryegrass seed which matures earlier.

White Clover Seed: Pastures saved for ryegrass seed in the first harvest season are often managed to produce white clover seed in the second, though other pastures which have become white clover dominant may also be used for that purpose. White clover is slower to establish than ryegrass but comes away after the ryegrass seed crop has been harvested. During the following winter and spring heavy grazing keeps the ryegrass in check and encourages the development of a clover-dominant sward. The best management entails even and reasonably close grazing alternating with spelling until the first flower heads begin to appear. The paddock is then closed for a seed crop, usually in late October, or later on naturally moist land or land which can be irrigated. At that stage, if the weather is dry, the plants are ready to expend their energy in producing seeds rather than leaves, though in a wet district or season the improved strains of white clover will continue to produce leaf growth which smothers the flower heads. White clover crops flower for a long period. Experience alone tells when a crop is at the best stage to harvest. The number of heads containing ripe seed is the main guide, but weather and the amount of clover-leaf growth can influence the decision. The crop is harvested by cutting it with a mower, leaving it to dry until the heads are brittle, and then threshing with a header harvester fitted with a pickup. If second growth develops before the crop can be threshed it may be necessary to undercut the windrow with the mower to facilitate drying.

Red Clover Seed: Cowgrass, an early or double-cut type of red clover, is grown mostly in Marlborough and Nelson. Montgomery red clover, a late or single-cut type, is more often grown in Canterbury and North Otago. If cowgrass and ryegrass are sown together the area is managed for a ryegrass-seed crop in the first harvest. More often the ryegrass is omitted and the cowgrass seed is sown either in autumn or spring immediately after the drilling of a cereal crop, or in spring with a rape crop. In either method 5–6 lb of cowgrass seed per acre are sown. Some growers sow up to 10 lb when ryegrass is not included. Phosphatic fertiliser and lime are applied as for ryegrass and white clover crops. After the ryegrass seed or the cereal crop has been harvested, or the rape crop fed off, the stand may be lightly and intermittently grazed until early spring, or it may be treated solely for hay and seed production without grazing. It is usual to take a hay crop in the second half of November or in early December. The second growth is saved for a seed crop the following autumn. Cowgrass seed ripens unevenly but the crop may be mown when the majority of the heads contain mature reddish-purple seeds and, depending on the weather, left in the swath for a fortnight before threshing. Most crops are ready for harvesting in March or early April. Seasonal management can be repeated to obtain a second crop in the subsequent season, but the areas are seldom retained longer for seed.

Although Montgomery red clover seed looks like cowgrass seed, the plants are slower to come away in the spring and do not usually put on enough growth for a hay crop before the area is closed for seed. Montgomery red clover seed is seldom sown without ryegrass (even in the spring under cover of a cereal, linseed, or rape crop) as it is difficult to control the following season's growth when pure sowings are made. Montgomery red clover is seeded rather more lightly than cowgrass, but other establishment practices are similar. Montgomery red clover stands may be saved longer than cowgrass for seed crops. They benefit from a phosphate topdressing before closing for seed each year. Older stands usually yield less seed.

It is sometimes practicable, on heavy land, to take a hay crop before saving for seed. More often the area is grazed with sheep until the end of October or November. Grazing is light and intermittent until vigorous growth begins, when heavy grazing is maintained until the area is closed for seed. In a dry season Montgomery red clover seed may be ready to harvest in late March or April, as there is little second growth of leaf to hinder operations. But in wet seasons harvesting may be delayed until frosts have cut back the leaf growth. Seed may be harvested in the same way as cowgrass seed, but it is more usual to wait until the leaf growth is dead and then to direct head the crop. More recently it has become common, when the seed is mature enough, to spray the crop with a leaf-defoliant or crop-desiccant chemical, which reduces leaf growth and hastens maturity. Direct heading can begin within a few days of treatment.

Cocksfoot Seed: Cocksfoot seed growing, once centred on Banks Peninsula, is now carried out in suitable districts in Mid and South Canterbury and in Southland on land where harvesting can be mechanised. Open-textured soils of reasonable fertility, in good heart and as free as possible from grassy weeds, are most suitable. It is usual to make a pure sowing of cocksfoot seed in December or January after a fallow. Stands so established produce a seed crop in the following season. The seed is drilled through every coulter, or broadcast, though English practice suggests that better yields are obtained if the stand is sown in 21-in. or 28-in. drills and the rows intercultivated. Phosphatic fertiliser is applied when the seed is sown. Where annual weed growth is a problem it may be better to sow the seed in spring under cover of a cereal crop. Seeding rates vary from 5 to 8 lb an acre or more when broadcast. Widely spaced rows are more lightly seeded. There seems no advantage from including white clover seed in the sowing.

Cocksfoot seed stands are harvested for many seasons, though yields tend to become lighter as the age increases. Annual applications of a nitrogen fertiliser increase the yield of seed. In the first season from 1 to 3 cwt an acre may be used, and twice that amount in later seasons, either in one application in the spring or in two applications in autumn and spring. Light grazing of a cocksfoot seed stand by cattle in the autumn may be beneficial, perhaps more through the trampling in of the dead residues after harvest than from any direct benefit from the grazing itself. Heavy or uncontrolled grazing harms seed production; some growers prefer not to graze at all.

Cocksfoot seed ripens unevenly and it is difficult to judge the best stage for harvesting. Most crops are cut when some seed can be knocked out of the riper heads when these are hit on the hand. Cutting is best done with a reaper and binder set high to avoid as much leafage as possible. The sheaves are then stocked for a fortnight before threshing. Mowing the crop and threshing it with a header harvester from the windrow gives indifferent results unless the farmer is favoured with good weather from cutting to threshing.

Timothy Seed: Timothy seed requires soil conditions similar to those for cocksfoot seed. Timothy establishes itself best on a firm seedbed which has been fallowed and well limed. The seed is sown at 3–5 lb an acre, either broadcast or (preferably) drilled. It is better not to sow any white clover with the timothy, as white clover seed is an impurity that is very difficult to separate. The seed is usually sown without a cover crop in December or January after a fallow; but in Southland, where considerable seed is produced, it is commonly sown earlier with rape as a cover crop. Timothy seed stands may be lightly grazed in the first autumn to help to establish the young plants, but they are best closed to stock during the first winter. The spring growth may be grazed by sheep from August to about the middle of October, when the area is closed for a seed crop and topdressed with 1 cwt of superphosphate and 5 cwt of lime an acre. Management for subsequent seed crops is similar, except that once the crop is established heavy stocking during winter aids seed production and the feeding out of the threshed straw on the area returns most of the nutrient taken up by the seed crop. Timothy seed is not ready for harvesting until about March, the crop being fit to cut when the seed head can be stripped from the stalk when it is pulled between the thumb and the forefinger. The trend in harvesting is to cut with the reaper and binder with the knotting mechanism removed, leaving a fairly high stubble. The cut crop forms a windrow on this stubble, where it is left to dry out for up to three weeks or more before it is picked up and threshed with a header harvester. Some growers still prefer to tie the cut crop into sheaves and stook or even stack it until the seed is ready for threshing with a mill. This method is undoubtedly the best if labour and machinery are available.

Seed Quality: Several factors determine quality in agricultural seeds. Purity is important and, especially, freedom from harmful weed seeds. Machine dressing of all seeds is standard practice and much progress has been made in the design of machines for this work. The separation of some impurities is almost impossible, but seed growers can materially assist by cutting or spraying serious weeds in the seed crop before harvesting.

Seed must be able to germinate, but little can be done to preserve this capacity other than by seeing that the seed is mature, does not heat when harvested, is stored under good conditions, and is used before it ages. Almost all lines of seed are tested for purity and germination at the Seed Testing Station of the Department of Agriculture, and a satisfactory certificate of analysis of a recent test is the buyer's assurance of quality.

Reselected or pedigree strains of all the main pasture and crop plants have been produced by the Grasslands and the Crop Research Divisions of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Nucleus lots of each kind are supplied regularly to the Department of Agriculture, which multiplies them and distributes them to seed growers. Further increase is made on a commercial basis, the product being certified under the seed certification scheme operated by the Department of Agriculture.

Varietal or strain purity must be maintained to get the best out of new varieties and strains. Buying certified seed protects the buyer, but much can be done by seed growers to see that varieties or strains are not mixed. It is always wise for seed growers to sow certified seed of the highest class to see that different varieties or strains which interpollinate or cannot easily be separated at dressing are not sown together, and that drills and harvesting equipment are properly cleaned. Seed-cleaning operators also need to take care so that seed is not contaminated or mixed during seed dressing.

by Jack Hean Claridge, B.AGR., DIP.AGR., Chief Advisory Officer (Agronomy), Department of Agriculture, Wellington.

• Arable Farm Crops of New Zealand, Hadfield, J. W. (1952)
• Crop Production, New Zealand Department of Agriculture, Extension Division (1953).