THE ADDISON SOIL at Bald Hill consists of a top layer high in coarse roots, which when dry is light and porous. It will be called the sponge layer. It is of variable thickness (0 to 6 in.) and its boundary with the underlying denser, rather structureless soil is not well defined. This underlying layer is by no means without roots, but often it is drier than either the sponge above or the grit layer below. For the sake of brevity it will be called the pug layer. The grit layer consists of humus-stained quartz grit overlying deeply cemented boulders. .The whole soil - sponge, pug and grit -is 10 in. to 2 ft deep.
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(176 KB)IN THE EARLY DAYS of European settlement on the West Coast, high hopes were held for farming on the pakihi lands, for here was land with no forest to be cleared before development to pastures. All that was required to gain pastoral land was to drain the swamps, sow seed and maybe some fertilizer. How right this proved to be; but the problems of drainage were not anticipated. With a high water-table perched on an impervious humus-iron pan and negligible lateral or surface drainage, the task proved discouraging to say the least, and after initial abortive attempts most of the land was abandoned by farmers.
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(160 KB)WE farm at Fox Glacier on the plains of the Fox and Cook rivers and their tributaries, the Clearwater River and others. The source of the main stream is the Fox Glacier which can be seen from the farm. Fox Glacier is 90 miles from the railhead at Ross; the road is good in parts and is being improved. Ross is 180 miles from the Addington market. This distance increases costs; the transport charge involved in sending a truck of bullocks to Addington is f34. Transport cost for lambs is 7s. 6d. per head to the freezing works, and for fertilizer from Hornby, f5 13s. 10d. per ton. Thus, the total cost of superphosphate at Fox Glacier is f15 5s. 10d. per ton.
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(82 KB)THE TERM “pasture quality” is a measure of the ability of the pasture to provide the nutritive requirements of the grazing animal. Many plant constituents contribute to this policy but only one group, the carbohydrates, will be considered here. At present probably the only reliable and meaningful method of assessing the relative nutritive value of different pastures is by comparing actual animal production on the pastures growing under identical conditions. Such a method is, of course, unsuitable for the plant breeder during the early stages of a plant breeding programme when he needs to select for quality from a large number of plant progenies. For this reason, it is desirable that quality be defined in more specific terms so that relatively simple tests for it can be devised. Work aimed at such a definition should, of course, be based on material from pastures whose animal potential is being measured at the same time. For this reason, work at Plant Chemistry Division on the possible role of the carbohydrate constituents in contributing to nutritive value has been based largely on material from single variety ryegrass pastures on which growth rate in sheep has been the index of animal production. The present account of how the plant carbohydrate composition of pasture can influence pasture quality will be illustrated with results obtained from these trials.
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(132 KB)To write of tussock grasslands in Westland may seem a little strange when one usually associates tussock grassland with the mountain ranges, valleys and hills on the eastern side of the main divide. But tussock grasslands above the tree-line probably total 20% of the area of Westland. No pastoral use is made of this country. Apart from a few unsuccessful attempts to run sheep, both from the West Coast side and the Canterbury side in the 1890s no serious attempt at pastoral occupation has been made. Nevertheless,. these alpine grasslands are of extreme economic importance in watershed protection and they are as vulnerable as the forests to abuse by introduced wild animals.
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(59 KB)THE farmable lands of Westland are oases set in a much larger area of marginal and unfarmable soils, backed by a still larger area of rock and snow. In the Westland land district, approximately 345,000 acres (8.3%) of the land is farmable; 377,000 acres (8.5%.) can be described as marginal - giving that word a generous meaning - and the balance, 3,394,OOO acres (83% ) is considered entirely unsuited to farming. This is well illustrated in a map showing the farmable areas which accompanies a report prepared by the N.Z. Department of Lands and Survey ( 1956). This excellent publication is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the problems of this region, though the area under survey included Karamea, Buller, Inangahua and only part of Westland land district.
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(103 KB)IN THE late summer and early autumn, farmers in many parts of the North Island and the most northern areas of the South Island are on their guard against facial eczema. This disease, which occurs in both sheep and cattle, is virtually confined to New Zealand, although isolated outbreaks have been reported in Australia. It was first recorded in New Zealand in 1897 (Gilruth, 1897) and since then there have been several widespread and severe outbreakse. g., in 1908, 1910, 1935. 1938, 1955 and 1956. It has been known for many years that the irritation of exposed lightly pigmented skin surfaces -the typical clinical svmptoms of the disease - is the result of liver damage. The search for this liver-damaging factor (Johns and Filmer, 1960) ; the discovery of the fungus Pithomyces chartarum a.s the primary cause of facial eczema (Thornton and Percival, 1959) ; and the isolation from it of the toxin Spnridesmin (Synge and White, 1959) is well documented.
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(274 KB)IN 1948, the Te Awa hill pasture research area was established, and a programme of subdivision, oversowing with legumes, and topdressing with phosphate was undertaken. As the area has now been in operation for a little over fifteen years, this is an appropriate time to take stock of the improvements that have been made.
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(218 KB)THE PROBLEM of establishing plants and keeping them growing on acid soils has been present as long as agriculture has been practised, and the beneficial effect of liming materials of various kinds has been appreciated for almost as long. But while they have been appreciated, their precise mode of action has not been understood. Even with the considerable advances that have been made in understanding the “acidity complex” in recent years, the full solution of the complexities of plant growth on acid soils has still to be found.
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(85 KB)G. DE S. BAYLIS, Fields Instructor with the Department of Agriculture, carried out the first experiment on pakihi soils in Golden Bay at Onekaka in 1910 and established pasture following cultivation. In 1912. Baylis stated, “The possibilities of this pakihi land have already been demonstrated and the rightly directed energy of the settlers is the one thing now needed to convert these barren lands into good pastures and farm lands”. The settlers have converted small areas into reasonable pasture during intervening years. Further research into the requirements of these soils has been carried out by the Cawthron Institute.
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(71 KB)THE Lands and Survey Department began land development in the Te Anau district in 1953 when about 63,000 acres of land including Lynwood Station were acquired. Other blocks were added at a later date, bringing the total area to approximately 148,000 acres.
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(73 KB)WITH the targets announced by the Agricultural Development Conference, it is necessary to look closely at all methods of increasing production. While there is much scope for development of poorer country, and while this is perhaps the glamour way of increasing production, a tremendous increase can come by raising the production on fully-developed dairy farms. By increasing the stocking rate of dairy cows, production levels can be raised almost overnight, and, while initial costs for extra stock may be high, returns in the first year often cover these costs. The only other cost is perhaps for extra fertilizer, but this too is quickly recovered. Three years’ trial work at the Waimate West Demonstration Farm, in South Taranaki, illustrate the basic principle : “More cows +more fertilizer = more butterfat = more cash”. This principle can be applied equally well to sheep and beef cattle properties. The Manaia farm at Waimate covers 90 acres of Egmont black loam, a freedraining derivative of Egmont andesitic ash. Rainfall varies, from 45 to 50 in. per year with dry periods common in summer and early autumn. Whole milk is produced for cheese factory supply.
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(95 KB)IN NEW ZEALAND extensive areas of new land are being sown to pasture each year. In many of these areas the soil does not contain the ‘beneficial rhizobial bacteria which nodulate the roots of common pasture legumes. In some cases, if rhizobia are present in the soils they are only in low numbers ; also many strains present in the soils are not effective on all clovers being sown. This deficiency can be corrected by the cheap, simple procedure of seed inoculation. However, if full value is to be obtained from inoculation, the seed must be sown under conditions which favour the survival of the applied bacteria. Provided inoculated seed is sown promptly into a well-prepared seedbed and adequately covered, excellent results will be obtained. However, several practical problems at times make this difficult. With land development now largely confined to more difficult soils and situations, inoculated seed may have to be held after inoculation, is sometimes sown into dry soil under dry conditions, and is frequently broadcast without adequate covering. In such circumstances, there is a gradual desiccation and death of the bacteria. Sometimes when sowing inoculated seed it is an advantage to be able to sow the seed with acid superphosphate, but this practice is injurious to the legume bacteria.
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(512 KB)OUR FARM is situated in the Hari Hari District, 75 miles south of Greymouth on the right bank of the Poerua River. The farm is part of the original homestead block from a large estate of the original settler who commenced farming in the area about 85 years ago.
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(197 KB)OUR property is situated at Ikamatua, 30 miles from Greymouth, on the Greymouth-Reefton state highway. On the southern side, the property is bounded by the Big Grey River and on the western side the boundary is the Rough River; in fact, three rivers - the Big Grey, the Little Grey, and the Rough, meet at the south-west corner of the property.
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(68 KB)WESTLAND CONSERVANCY, which conforms to the Westland Land District boundaries, being bounded in the north by the Porarari, Otututu and Grey rivers, to the east by the main divide, and to the south by the Awarua River, contains the most important mechantable indigenous forests remaining in New Zealand. These forests are important from both the national and regional viewpoints, as with controlled cutting they will be capable of producing a major contribution to New Zealand’s requirements of high quality timber and veneers for nearly one hundred years. Their value will be further enhanced in the future, as the now limited indigenous forests in other regions are depleted, and this premium will be maintained until, and even after, such time as comparable grades can be produced in sufficient quantity from well-tended exotic forests. As a strategic reserve, should any disaster befall the exotic forests, the indigenous forests of Westland also fill a valuable role. From the regional viewpoint, these production forests will provide the raw material for a locally based industry, which is now being expanded to help give stability to a regional economy where the resources available for industrial development are limited.
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(115 KB)THE AREA of Westland Forest Conservancy is approximately 3,800,OO acres, of which about 2,300,OOO acres, or 60%, is steep, unoccupied,5mountain land held in Crown ownership as State Forest, unalienated Crown Land, or Nalional Park. The value of this land, for timber production or for agricultural or pastoral use, is entirely negligible, yet upon the safe custody of it the future of Westland must largely depend. The most cursory evaluation of flood hazards, particularly in respect to the key agricultural and pastoral lands on the flood plains of the rivers, will show that this statement is no exaggeration. Under Westland conditions, protection works designed by man will not be worth twopence if there is failure to maintain an adequate cover of vegetation on the flanks of the mountains.
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(125 KB)THE PURPOSE of this paper is to make some general comments on pakihi soils, to review experimental work on them in the Westport district, and to make some recommendations on development techniques, based on information gained by many workers over a period of some fifty years.
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(88 KB)THE soils of Westland are, in general, a sad-looking lot ‘at the present time. Over large areas of the lowlands their native robes of timber trees have been taken away or torn to shreds. Some small areas have acquired a new flimsy garment of pasture or foreign trees, but large areas of flat and undulating terrace lands are a ragged quilt of rushes, ferns, mosses and burnt tree sturnps. Hills previously in tall forests now have a mass of small trees, shrubs and ferns without timber value. If the soils could speak, they would complain that they had been treated like gold or coal (which to a soil is worse than dirt). Gold and coal are .I inert, diminishing resources of only temporary value to Westland. Soil, on the other hand, has living components that give it powers of recuperation so that it can be used over and over again. It need not be a diminishing asset. With assistance from man, soil can increase its natural productivity and maintain this at a certain level indefinitely. Hence, the soils are potentially a far more important asset to Westland than gold or coal. But this is not apparent either to the resident of Westland nor to the visitor. Along the highways or runways they see derelict farms and wonder if the soils are inherently poor or whether the timber trees took all the “good” out of the soil. On the other hand, the abundant growth of unpalatable plants would indicate a potential source of productivity in the soils.
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(386 KB)FOR SOME YEARS NOW, J. P. Beggs, Farm Advisory Officer at Blenheim, has been concerned with problems of establishing legumes in the hill country about Blenheim. The natural cover on this country consists of an almost pure sward made up of five species of Notodanthonia. Because of the steep nature of the country, oversowing is the only practical method of pasture improvement, and this fails because legumes do not establish adequately. The writer has been interested in this problem for some time and the following is an interim report on some factors which appear to be involved.
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