GROWTH OF TOP-DRESSING

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 274, 20 December 1929, Page 10

GROWTH OF TOP-DRESSING

what the latest figures show. cohparison betweex d1stricts. (Speoially VTritten for the Telegraph). Statistics make very dull reading generally, and it is questionable ■iThether any farmers eyer make a careful study of the agricnltural and pastoral statistics issued each season. Yet these contain a very great deal of useful information, _ and sliow why it is that some districts have more satisfactory production than others. They sliow, too, the need for the espansion of top-dressing, if our production is to be ^increased, or even maintained. Looklng hack over the tables issued in previous years, and coniparing these, vith the latest figurcs just made arailable, one cannot but be struck with the revolution that has taken place in the farming methods of certain districts which now depend almost entirely on grass farming and the use of fertilisers, for their success. Auckland and Nortli Auckland are the districts which stand out pre-emi-nft n t in the top-dressing field, with .taranaki and Wellington close beliind, and it is interesting to see also that these are the districts in whicli the more vecent methods of fertilising, emboclying the usc of nitrogenous manures, are being tried out. _ Two factors, isolxtion, and lesser rainfall, probablv account for much of the lack of interest in top-dressing in certain districts. The first means higlier freights and consequently iucreased cost of fertiliser, but the latter can usually be overcome by choosing the right pen'od of thc year for applying the nianure, "super,: axd slag. More than half the manure applied (including lime under the Leading oi' manure) consists of superphosphate, and the comparison between super and slag, tjie next favourito in phosphatic manures, shows that 192,250 tons of superphosphate were Tiscd as against 79,450 tons of slag. In the wetter districts with heavy clay soils, it is noteworthy that these are the districts showing the largest use of basic slag. Taranaki is the on'-y distriet in New Zealand wliere more basic slag is used than superphosphate, and one cannot help but wonder, under these circumstances, whether the advantages of slag "are not more faneied than real, The unit cost of slag is greater than the unit cost of superphosphate in New Zealand, so that farmers should bc assured of real benefits befoi'o using the former. Some, of course, prefer slag because of its lime content. but this may be a dear method of applying lime. Tt is for the farmer, of course, to weigh up the rarious factors and decide the question for himself. The Auckland distriet, which of course, includes the Waikato, Lorne of top-dressing, provided more than st tliird of the total area top-dressed in New Zealand, and used more than a. third of the total quantities applied throughout the Dominion. If the North Auckland distriet he added in, this area used more than half the manure applied in New Zealand — a very satisfactory result from Auckland's point of yiew, but one that should be viewed with less satisfaction by other districts which are anxious to inc-rease production, position ecrther south. Taranaki and Wellington districts hoth showed considerable areas topdressed, but in both cases tlie quantities applied were slightly less than in the northern districts, showing that farmers there have yet to appreciate thoroughly the advantages of heavy dressings applied several times during the season. In Ilawke's Bay, "too, more than 100,000 acres were top-

dressed, but here too the quantities per acre were less. Slag was used on only 4000 acres of that area, showing , that superphosphate is by far the most ponular manure there. The Gisborne distriet is a. long way bebind any other North Island distriet in the use of fertilisers. and this is reflected in the methods of farming there, which are nowhere near as proeressive as those in plaqcs like the Waikato. It suffers, of course, from isolation and heavy port charges which add tremendously to the cost of fertiliser, and militate against rapid growtli of the practice. As far as the "new" system of fertilising is concerned. _ Auckland and North Auckland agafn sweep the board. using more of nitrogenous and notassic manures than all the rest of New Zealand combined. Southland, Wellineton and Taranaki also use fair quantities. also one or two other southern districts, hut here these .manures mainly comprise potash used for root crops." THE USE OF LIME. There is one other feature of the statistics which is worthy of comment, this being the use of lime in different districts. In this respect the Sauth Tsland is very far aliead of the North, Bnd Southland alon© uses as much as all the rest of New Zealand, while if Otago consumption of lime he added in, nearly two-tliirds of New Zealand's consumption is accouuted for. The districts of Gisborne, Hawke's Bay and Taranaki combined, used onesixth . as much lime as Southland. Auckland and North Auckland combined don't use half as much as Southland. ^ trwe is urgent need for the greater use of lime in the North Island ; all who understand deficienry diseases know that as a fact. With greater application of nitrogenous manures, the use of lime will become imperative — results will not be secured without its use, which is a very good tlirng, and will ultimately react advantageously on the farming commuuity. Lime luifortmvately is dear in many parts of the Nortli Island, and cheaper supplies would help solve the prohlem.