Pasture and pasture research in New Zealand : with special reference to the role of pasture and pasture plants in soil conservation : together with an appendix covering a study of the effects of varying day length and temperature on six different strains of lucerne

Abstract

The importance of pasture and pasture plants in soil conservation in world agriculture cannot be gainsaid. Unfortunately pasture lands heir to a large number of problems such as ravages of serious erosion in most parts of the world. Thus grassland management involves a constant struggle against these forces of destruction such as soil slip, slump, gully erosion, debris avalanche, and so on.

Although there has been an immense amount of work done on this subject, resulting in the accumulation of a large and varied literature on the subject, little effort seems to have been made especially in New Zealand to bring this widely scattered material together so as to present a more or less complete picture of the role of grass in soil conservation before those concerned with its cultivation, management, and improvement. This has resulted in an under-estimation of the actual alarming state of affairs as people are either apt to overlook the danger till it really assumes a serious form, thinking that if the danger is absent today it will remain absent even tomorrow.

In the present work an attempt has been made at the synthesis of our current knowledge about pasture and pasture research in New Zealand with special reference to the role of pasture and pasture plants in soil conservation.

Briefly its applicability has been discussed in such countries as U.S.A., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and its possible applications to the problem of soil conservation in India. The necessity of this work was felt because of the fact that there is no comprehensive book dealing with this subject exclusively to cater for the needs of both the research worker as the scientist and the farmer as the practitioner, With the result that if anyone wants to have some definite information on the topic, he has frequently to perform the Herculean task of exploring a veritable ocean of literature on the subject. In the first place, everyone is not so favourably situated as to have an unrestricted access to all the relevant literature required; secondly, even assuming that he has such access, the time and energy involved in such a search is almost breath-taking; and lastly, very often he is confronted with a maze of conflicting views which make his task really stupendous. The object of this work is to obviate such difficulties as far as practicable. Throughout the preparation of these pages, the aim has been to condense the extensive literature available on the subject to the size of a handy volume for the benefit of all who are interested in the topic.

The writer would have liked to be a little more critical than he has generally been throughout the survey, but this could not be achieved owing to the limitations of space and time. The magnitude of the task before the writer can be guessed from the fact that the whole work has been done only with one year's background of New Zealand farming.

The bibliography will be found to include a few more references than would be warranted by the contents. This has been done to provide readers with access to relevant literature if they wish to have more information on any particular aspect.

Attempts have been made to quote authorities for all information given but this has not been possible in every case. Where quotations have been used they have often been summarised or paraphrased and in such cases inverted commas have not been used. The appendix contains an account of small research project conducted by the writer himself. This work on the effect of varying day lengths and temperature on six different strains of lucerne was undertaken to gain an insight into original work in plant science; and though the field covered is extremely narrow, it has nevertheless served the objective admirably.