Alfalfa , also called lucerne and called Medicago sativa in binomial nomenclature, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae.
Lucerne can be cultivated successfully with either flood or sprinkler irrigation at about 1 200mm of water a year, including rainfall. Lucerne must be sown into warm soils and is often undersown to a spring cereal crop as it is slow to establish.
Alfalfa, also known as lucerne or Medicago sativa, is a plant that has been grown as feed for livestock for hundreds of years. However, you may find it for a good price at a farm supply store.
The main use of lucerne in NSW is as a pasture Web design and development by Pixel Concepts, All material copyright Cotswold Seeds Ltd Two or three further cuts follow at six week intervals.
Because the hay is so rich in many essential elements, lucerne hay makes terrific mulch.
However, if you hale from New Zealand, Australia, Africa, Germany, France or the United Kingdom, you likely know this beneficial plant as lucerne. The middle of August is the latest date for sowing if a good seed bed can be made and there is sufficient moisture available. news & case studies.
Read on to learn more about using lucerne hay as mulch. Sowing with a companion grass mix helps out-compete weeds enabling lucerne leys to be left down for longer. Cutting – the old and the new There are two main types of lucerne cutter – the traditional sickle bar mower and the disc mower, which uses rotating blades. USES Lucerne may be grown as a pasture for year-round and special-purpose grazing, or for hay, silage, green fodder, pellets, cubes, seed production, sprouts or protein fractionation. Roll before and after sowing to help achieve fast germination and weed competitiveness. Hard or frequent grazing should be avoided especially during its first year as the crop will not tolerate it.
By: Mary H. Dyer, Credentialed Garden Writer, Provides many important minerals, including potassium, calcium, iron, folic acid and others, Decomposes quickly, making it an excellent choice for poor soil, Keeps soil cool in summer and warm in winter, Reduces fertilizer requirement, thus reducing expenses, Contains natural hormones that help prevent root disease.
Although the largest areas of lucerne are grown in the cropping belt, the heaviest concentrations occur along river valleys. Irrigation must be adapted to the climate and soil type.
From a summer sowing or an undersowing there will be little to cut in the first year. Thereafter cut at the bud stage as this provides the ideal balance between yield and quality.
Don’t allow lucerne mulch to pile up against the base of plants, including trees and shrubs. The seed of lucerne is small and needs to be sown to a maximum depth of 15mm otherwise a patchy, thin crop will result. A well fermented lucerne/grass silage has a dry matter of 30%, a crude protein of 20%, a D-value of 60 and an ME of 9.7MJ. Herbicide options are available during establishment and during the first winter, in pure stands gramminicide options are also available to control grass weeds and volunteer cereals. even out seasonal livestock feed and produce fodder opportunistically out-of-season Here are some lucerne mulch benefits you can expect when using lucerne mulch in your garden: Although lucerne hay makes fantastic mulch, it is considered premium mulch and may be more expensive than other types of mulch. Reducing the cereal seed rate by a third and cutting it as arable or wholecrop silage will give lucerne the best start.
Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! The name lucerne is the more commonly used name in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. Lucerne hay (Medicago sativa), a clover-like plant belonging to the pea family, is grown as livestock feed in countries around the world. Thereafter cut at the bud stage as this provides the ideal balance between. The plant superficially resembles clover(a cousin in the same …