Mar. 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W 167 



Field Peas as Fodder* 



A Substitute eor AVheat and Oats. 



H. WENHOLZ, B.Sc. (Agr.), Inspector of Agriculture. 



With the present extreme scarcity of suitable varieties of seed wheat and 

 oats in New South Wales, many farmers will naturally look for some sub- 

 stitute fodder crop. The claims of field peas as an efficient crop for the 

 purpose might well be taken account of just now. 



Field peas have been for many years the most popular crop with orchardists 

 in many districts (especially in citrus orchards) as a green manure and cover 

 crop. On maize land on the coast which has been continuously cropped for 

 many years and which is showing signs of "wearing out" (indicated by 

 deficiency in humus and poor physical condition), field peas are being 

 increasingly used as a means of restoring the land to its former tilth On 

 the Macleay River they are being more and more extensively sown for the 

 combined pui-poses of soil improvement and stock feeding. The seed is 

 usually sown after the early maize crop is oft* in February, March or April, 

 and the growth is gf nerally fed off by dairy cows during July or August, 

 when there is a shortage of winter feed. Farther north on the coast, where 

 maize is sown later, the best farmers are sowing field peas among the 

 maize at the last cultivation (usually during February), and they find the 

 legume not only improves the soil but provides a substantial bulk of 

 nutritious feed for dairy cow« when turned on to the cornsttilks after the 

 maize is harvested. The system is usually highly successful because of the 

 good autumn rainfall on the upper North Coast and the frequent dry winter 

 and spring months, which favour late plantings of maize and also make feed 

 of the kind scarce in winter and spring. 



On the Northern Tableland and in the wheat districts where there is a 

 good winter rainfall (such as the Riverina and Central-western Slopes) field 

 peas are coming to the front as a fodder crop for sheep ; and though they have 

 not yet entered into the regular rotation to any extent in those districts, 

 their value in this direction has been partially proved by experiments. In 

 South Australia and Victoria the use of field peas in the rotation has been 

 definitely established, and has taken its place in an improved system of mixed 

 farming. In these cases field peas are used alone, and where wheat and oats 

 are unprocurable for seed this season, farmers in those wheat districts that 

 have been mentioned might well consider the advisability of sowing this 

 substitute on at least part of their land. The result will, perhaps, lead 

 them to realise its advantages as a fodder crop and for soil improvement. 



