PRODUCTION OF LUCERNE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1747, 30 August 1905, Page 59

PRODUCTION OF LUCERNE

(Compiled by the West Australian Director of Agriculture.) The composition of the. lucerne plant, revealed by chemical analyses, shows that it ranks among the best animal foodstuffs. When the plant was coming into bloom, the analysis showed that it contained the following percentage®: — Protein, 18.47; fat 1.14; carbohydrates, 64.04; water, 4.40; ash, 11.95. It may he stated that the value* of the feeding stuff is measured by the quantity of protein, and that an increase in carbohydrates generally indicates a deterioration in its feeding quality. Bran analysis compared with that of lucerne shows that lucerne is the more valuable as a fodder, its constituents being—Protein, 15.4; fat, 4.0;. carbohydrates, 62.9: water, 11.9: ash, 5-8. Lucerne will grow in any soil that will produce maize, and in a good many soils in which maize will not grow. On the black soils of the Darling Downs, in Queensland, fine stands of the crop may he seen, and also it® resultant effect in fat lambs ready for market at 13 weeks old. in which lucerne does best is alluvial, well drained, and not subject to inundation. If water remains on the crop for 48 hours, it will probably kill it. The plant food it reis potash, lime, magnesia, phosphoric acid, and sulphur. A soii formed of decomposed limestone is ideal for-the growth of lucerne. It will also thrive exceedingly well in a soil composed of almost pure sand, provided the water table is within reach of its roots and the underground water contains enough mineral to supply it with a large quantity of its food Experiments made at the Manhattan Experiment Station and reported • upon by Mr George Clothier, the manager, shows that the difference in yields from bottom and upland was not due to a disparity in the fertility of the soil, but to a difference in the available water supply to the roots. Although lucerne has been known to survive periods of excessive dryness so severe. as to cause buffalo grass tb perish, yet it is an undoubted fact that the plant uses as much water in the production of a ton of dry matter as any other crop. It is not likely to be a permanent and heavily yielding crop upon a soil underlaid with an impermeable substratum of rock or hard-pan within two or three feet of the -surface. ' PREPARING THE SOIL.

In the preparation of the soil for a stand of lucerne, no better advice can be given than that contained in the report of the Manhattan Station previously referred to. The report, which is based on actual experience, states that although successful stands of lucerne have been secured by simpiy scattering the seed among the prairie grasses and harrowing it in with an Acm© or disc harrow, or by. seeding after the breakingup plough in sod land, such methods are not to be recommended. If the land is so weedy that it cannot be cleaned by cultivation, it should be fallowed for one season prior to the seeding. If it is desirable to subsoil the land, this should be done a year before seeding, and may be followed either by fallow or a cultivated crop. Time enough should intervene between the eubeoiiing and the seeding to allow the soil to settle, and to store a bountiful supply of moisture against dry weather. Although lucerne roots penetrate very stiff soil®, it generally pays to subsoil to a depth of 15 to 20 inches, so that the young plant roots may not meet with disco u raging difficulties too early in life. In a fairly porous soil, a vigorous lucerne plant 30 days’ old will have a tap-root 15 to 18 inches long. The soil should be put in such a perfect tilth that the farmer need have no fears of dry weather or weeds to injure his young lucerne. The seed bed should be as fine as an onion bed, and the subsurface rather firm and well supplied with moisture. If the soil is deficient in humus, a liberal coating of barnyard manure, ploughed under at the time of subsoiling, will add greatly to its physical condition, and thuß help to start the young plants out in life with less difficulties to encounter. If the soil is very sandy, the manure will he of great value in preventing the sand from blowing and in conserving moisture. A very sandy soil is not benefited by deep ploughing or subsoiling. If the eodl is heavy, and it is not practicable to subsoil, it should be ploughed to a depth of eight or ten inches several months prior to seeding. The land is allowed to lie fallow after this treatment, or has been autumn ploughed. It should be thoroughly disced every three weeks during the summer or autumn, as the case may be, to keep a dust mulch on the surface and prevent evaporation. If the soil has bad the thoroughly extended preparation outlined above, the immediate preparation will be very simple, and may be accomplished by running a smoothing harrow over the ground a day or two before the drill. If avoidable, lucerne should never be sown on freshly ploughed land. After the plants have attained a firm hold in .the soil, the ground may be harrowed once or twice a year, preferably when the plants are at rest. This is of great advantage in destroying insects and assisting in the conservation of moisture. In common with other leguminous plants, lucerne has the ability to feed

indirectly upon, the nitrogen of the atmosphere. This is accomplished by means of organisms or soil bacteria, which dwell in the little excrescences or tubercles on the roots of the lucerne, and take up the nitrogen gas and convert it into food for their host. The bacteria are not frequent in new soils, and it sometimes happens that lucerne or clover will not thrive on new land until the organisms have been introduced. If lucerne has not been grown in a neighbourhood it might be profitable to obtain some soil from a distant lucerne field, and sow with the seed in order to inoculate the land with the nutrifying bacteria. SEEDING. In this State the time of seeding is of great importance. The lucerne seed should be sown at a time when there is an absence of unfavourable weather conditions, rather than at any particular season. As soon as there is a likelihood of all danger from frost being over,, the lucerne could be sown. Cold rain, however, when excessive, sometimes cause the young plants to rot off. as would be the case with the adult plants when submerged for two or three days. The young plant is so sensitive to standing or stagnant water that an intelligent irrigator would not dare to piit an inch of water upon his field —after seeding—before the plant® were six weeks o d, even if he ran a risk of their perishing from drought. It is necessary, however, in this country, to sow the seed some weeks before the dry weather period -begins, so as to insure its receiving sufficient moisture to thoroughly establish it, and to .enable it to tide over the period when moisture is absent. While the lucerne is among the most tender plants when young, it becomes one of the most vigorous and robust when firmly established in a congenial habitat. It would be advisable to examine the soil in which lucerne is to be planted, to ascertain at what depth the sub-'’ terranean water is from the surface. If the roots of the plant find their way into stagnant water the lucerne will die. In cold, wet soil it will not live, hence the necessity for drainage. If sown broadcast, from 20 to 25 pounds of seed will be required per acre; if drilled, 15 to 20 pounds. The seeds should be covered about one inch in depth, unless the surface is very dry, when a somewhat greater depth is admissible. . A good method to secure a better distribution of plaints is to sow 10 pounds of seed, running the drill in one direction across the field, and then cross-drill other 10 pounds. Thick sowing improves the quality of the hay, but the plant has wonderful ability to> adapt itself to either thick or thin sowing. One good etout healthy crown has been known, to produce 360 stems at one cutting. When seeding broadcast, the seed should be covered with a light smoothing harrow, or with a brush drag. The majority of farmers seem to prefer broadcasting, presumably because they have less difficulty in getting the plants covered shallow enough than with a drill. In very sandy districts, where the sand is liable to blow and cut off the stems of the young lucerne, it Las been found beneficial to eow with the lucerne half a bushel of oats to the acre, as a protection against the blowing sand. The oat plants must be removed before they have an opportunity to shade the lucerne, using a mowing machine the same as if they were weeds. It its a waste of time to attempt to grow the crop on weedy ground, the* young plant being very tender and easily smothered out by rank weeds. —Journal of the Department of Agriculture. Western Australia.