H. —29

Appendix A. Summary of Experiments laid down, discontinued, and carried on, 1st April, 1936, to 31st March, 1937.

SEED CERTIFICATION. Mr. J. H. Claridge, Certification Officer, supplies the following report : — During the past year operations relative to the system of Seed Certification have proceeded along the usual channels. No further crops have been included in the scheme, but considerable development has been shown in regard to those crops already under certification. The scheme covering white-clover seed has been amended along lines which simplify the process of certification while the scheme covering seed wheat has also been subject to modification. The minimum standards of purity applicable to machine-dressed seed of the various grasses and clovers were raised prior to commencement of the 1936—37 season. In most cases 110 difficulty has been found in the machine-dressing of seed to comply with the higher standards adopted. Pedigree Seeds. The contract growing of pedigree strains of perennial rye-grass and white clover seeds has been continued and extended. Owing to unfavourable conditions the yield of certified " Government stock" perennial ryegrass amounted to only 700 bushels. On the other hand, orders received from merchants were sufficient to absorb almost twice this quantity. A good harvest of certified " Government stock" white clover seed was obtained from one area, but the seed crop from several other areas was a failure. A little over 1,000 lb. of seed was distributed in response to inquiries from merchants, amounting in the aggregate to over 1.300 lb. Inquiries were also received for supplies of pedigree strains of Montgomery red clover and Italian rye-grass, but no seed of these is yet available. All the nucleus stocks of rape-seed were placed with merchants for multiplication under certification. From the above remarks it will be seen that there is a ready demand for seeds of pedigree and selected origin, and that there exists a wide scope for development in this respect. t Perennial Rye-grass. A reduction of almost 25 per cent, has been recorded in the acreage entered for certification in the 1936-37 season. This falling off is accounted for mainly by the greatly reduced acreages entered from Hawke's Bay, Poverty Bay, and Manawatu, and is 110 doubt an indication that the farmers in this territory are not so hard pressed financially as has been the ease in recent years. During the twelve months ending 31st March, 1937, an increase was shown in the quantity of seed entered for certification in the " Commercial " class. One hundred and fifty-six thousand bushels were offered, two-thirds of this quantity being accepted as certified seed. It is interesting to note that whereas it was anticipated that the " Commercial" scheme might result in reduced acreages entered in the South Island for certification under the field inspection method, in actual practice these acreages are being maintained. Advantage is being taken of the conditions of certification under the " Commercial" scheme to extend the scope of certification beyond those areas which are eligible for field inspection and certification following thereon. It has been unfortunate that adverse seasonal conditions over practically the whole of the rye-grass seed areas have resulted in the seed harvested in the 1936-37 season being below normal in regard to germination. In some instances germination has been so reduced as to make the seed practically worthless. Cockseoot. Entries for cocksfoot-seed certification show an increased acreage coming under the scheme. Growers have experienced the worst seasonal conditions for many years, with the result that much of the seed harvested is so light that it has been found impossible to obtain anything approaching a reasonable standard of purity for the machine-dressed product. Particularly has this been so in the case of seed harvested from Banks Peninsula. As a result of the foregoing, the quantity of cocksfoot finally sealed and tagged for the season will be much lower than usual, despite the increased acreage entered.

31

T7 Yllor ; mDnt As at 31st March, | Discontinued ! Laid down during As at 31st March, lype oi experiment. 193g | during the Year. | the Year. 1937. 1. Pastures — (a) Mowing trials ...... 9 .. 4 13 (b) Observational top-dressing .. 452 98 70 424 (c) Strain trials ...... 99 4 21 116 (d) Grazing trials ...... 4 1 3 6 (e) Inoculation of clovers .. .. 119 21 18 116 (/) Subterranean clover trials .. 1 .. 31 32 (g) Feed-flavour investigation 42 35 .. 7 (h) Pasture establishment .... 17 3 21 35 (i) Management methods. .... 4 .. .. 4 2. Crops— (a) Manuring of cereals .... 12 14 16 14 (b) Wheat varieties ...... 9 12 12 9 (c) Oat varieties ...... 6 6 2 2 (d) Potato manuring .. .. 18 18 16 16 (e) Turnip manuring .... 7 7 5 5 (/) Control of brown-heart .... 18 20 41 39 (g) Sugar-beet trials .. .. .. .. 2 31 29 (h) Rape varieties .. .. .. . . . . 6 6 (i) Maize varieties ...... 2 2 5 5 (j ) Other crop experiments .... 28 22 10 16 3. Miscellaneous — (a) Pampas-grass investigation .. 27 .. 2 29 (b) Control of ragwort .... 4 5 27 26 (c) Pig-feeding trials .... . . 1 4 3 (d) Other triais ...... 11 9 22 24 889 280 367 ' 976