Story: Soil erosion and conservation

Sowing the seeds

Sowing the seeds

After burning the native bush or tussock, English grasses and clovers were sown. This had to be done by hand, and on hill country it was a slow and arduous job. After the first flush of fertility from the forest or tussock ashes, fertiliser had to be spread – also by hand – to keep the grass growing. By the 1950s topdressing aircraft were spreading fertiliser much more efficiently.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: 1/2-038775;F

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Paul Gregg, 'Soil erosion and conservation - Natural and human causes of erosion', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/19786/sowing-the-seeds (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Paul Gregg, published 24 Nov 2008