Lucerne provides good yields of highly nutritious silage and is particularly useful in relatively dry conditions.
Lucerne is very high in protein and minerals and its lower cell wall content makes it highly digestible for high intakes. It has 3 to 5 year potential.
Suitable for silage, big bales, hay or zero grazing.
Fixes atmospheric nitrogen
Management:
Lucerne can be sown from April through to August, though later sowings carry a greater risk of establishment failure, due to cooler weather and winter kill.
Seed should be treated with a Rhizobium inoculant to ensure root nodulation and efficient nitrogen fixing.
Sow at 8-15Kg/acre into well drained soils with a neutral pH.
Lucerne will not tolerate waterlogged or acidic soils. Drill into moisture in 10cm rows, no deeper than 1cm.
First cut will usually be in late April/May with subsequent cuts at approximately 40 day intervals.
