A GOOD HAY CROP.

Otago Witness, Issue 3212, 6 October 1915, Page 16

A GOOD HAY CROP.

Greater effort should be made in the Dominion to establish lucerne as a standard hay crop, more particularly in the South Island. Some farmers are raising it, and arc ’.veil pleased with results, The various Agricultural and Pastoral Societies might well take a hand and offer a substantial money prize for the best, say, one acre of lucerne in each province. Lucerne has been proved to be a good hay crop, but is not in use in a general way. It is an excellent feed containing a large amount of digestible protein, and also a large percentage of carbohydrates. It is a deep-rooted plant. The usual run of hay plants are shallow and surface-soil-feeding plants; but with the lucerne plants it is quite the other way. While the plant normally grows, say, about 3ft, its roots go down, 10, 20, or more feet, and there is the case reported in Nevada where the roots were found 120 ft below the surface of the lucerne field. This deep-rooting character is of decided advantage, since plants practically secure all of their food through their roots, and much of the food taken up by the lucerne plant must come from the deeper layers of the soil. Yet I another point in favour of growing lucerne lies in the fact that, although like other plants it requires nitrogen, it gets it in quite a different way from most plants. Most forage plants requiring nitrogen obtain it from the soil, and from time to time we have to supply fertilisers containing this expensive constituent of manures to the soil. Lucerne, however, although requiring large amounts of nitrogen, secures it from the air, which contains a great deal in the form of gas. The lucerne plants themselves cannot take this nitrogen from the air and use it, but in some soils there are many bacteria (germs) which can use it. These bacteria get into the roots of the lucerne plant and grow and form small bunches or nodules. These bacteria in some way are able to take the nitrogen from the air and change it in such a way that the plants can use it for food. Thus the soil nitrogen is saved, and when the lucerne field is ploughed under, there is a large amount of nitrogen in the plant and roots for use of the following crop. Naturally some trouble and care is required in the early stages of growing lucerne. It is not enough to plough, sow the seed, and then sit down and wait. It depends on the location, when to plant—in the spring, midsummer, or early autumn; hut whenever it is planted there are certain things that must be attended to before seeding. Lucerne will not grow well on an acid or sour soil, and it objects to a low, flat, poorly-drained paddock. The soil should be in fair condition to start with, and one should avoid experimenting in any worn-out paddock if a good crop is desired. It may be necessary to inoculate the field, and so be assured that the tiny bacteria is there to help the lucerne to grow. That is, however, a Simple matter. This soil may be secured from any old lucerne field.' It is necessary to secure a few hundred pounds and sow it on the land when it is ready for seeding. Be sure it is sown well on in the afternoon [ and harrowed in at once, as much bright j sunlight will kill the bacteria. Weeds and grass give a lot of trouble Usually, j and it is best to clean thoroughly the I patch before the lucerne is planted. In j some districts it is usual to plant in the I spring with a nurse crop, the land having ! boen ploughed the preceding autumn and cleaned and worked up when the plough < furrow is dry in the spring. Some of the | causes for the winter killing of lucerne as ■ stated in the annual report of the Wis- j cousin Alfalfa Order are as follow:—Late ; cutting and pasturing, lack of inoculation, thick seeding of nurse crops, sour soils, poor drainage (flat land), late seeding.