LUCERNE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 17968, 8 September 1920, Page 2

LUCERNE.

KING OP' FODDER PLANTS. A VALUABLE PERENNIAL. It is safe to say that so far no plant has yet been found that is so easily cultivated, long lived, free from disease, and gives such valuable all-round satisfaction as lucerne. A fodder plant whose virtue was very successfully demonstrated by the Moumahaki State Farm. This plant is a native of Central Asia, and was brought from there by Xerxes to Greece in B.C. 490, from whence it found its wjy to Italy in B.C. 146. The Moors took it to Spain in A.D. 711, from where it found its way to France, Belgium and England, being taken to America by the Spaniards in about the sixteenth century. To-day this plant is to be found all over the world, and is being more extensively cultivated every year. Alfalfa, as it is called by the Americans, is derived from an Arabic word meaning “best fodder.”

The crop is perennial in nature, and thrives under a great variety of climates, and in a number of soils. It, however, will not live on wet ground, it is a deep-rooted plant, and must, have depth of soil. One of its chief foods is lime. The plant is a dark green in colour, growing upright. The life of the plant depends entirely upon the class of soil and cultivation. It has been recorded as living for two hundred years, but the average life is from five to twenty-five years. On the Hunter River flats, N.S.W., where the roots will go down twenty feet to the water, and the land is a rich loam, rhe plant may be said to have its ideal home.

There are many varieties of lucerne. One must be very careful to buy the seed from a seed house of reputation, and be sure that it is free from dodder. This is really a vine which twines itself round the plant, and then detaches itself from the ground and so lives as a parasite upon the lucerne. It is orange in colour and has leafless stems with golden flowers. The dodder seed is much smaller than the lucerne, and can be removed by sifting. If dodder appears in a crop the best method is to mow the crop close to the ground, and burn it where it lies; this will not kill the lucerne. There exists a fallacy that lucerne will not grow except on rich river flats. That is absurd, because lucerne will grow on almost any soil, provided it is well drained, and has sufficient raipfall. The better the soil the more it will grow, and the heavier the yields and the longer it will live. It will not, hoyjetmr, live on swampy g’-cpna-~-^£ 00 J^ flt 4 age is_esse;{ t>a j The soil must not and a g 00( j fertilising with lime or superphosphate is advantageous. A simple way to ascertain if the soil requires lime is to get a piece of blue litmus paper from a chemist, closing the soil completely round the paper. If the paper turns red in a few minutes, the soil needs liming. The best method for liming is to buy the unslacked lime, and to place this in heaps about the field until it has slacked and reduced to powder. Then spread it with a shovel, and harrow it into the soil. Do not sow the lantj until about three weeks after this. Further applications edn be put on to the land every, three years with a drill. Most lands also require manuring. There are various good manures, but most of them have for their principal ingredient superphosphate. An experiment plot was divided into three sections. No. 1. section was not manured, and returned 5 cwt. 64 lbs. No. 2 plot was given 112 lbs. of superphosphates to the acre, and returned 2 tons 12 cwt. 64 lbs. No. 3 plot had 224 lbs. of super, and gave 3 tons 7 cwt. 78 lbs. ' hay. However, it is generally considered that a dressing ot from ' 56 lbs. to 112 lbs. of super, to the acre is sufficient. If the weather is at all wet, or likely to be so, it is , better to apply the manure after the crop has become established, say, in a mont hor two. The manure can, . however, be applied at the time of sowing. If a drill is purchased with a seeder box and fertiliser box, the ' whole operation is done at once, and done evenly, the grain being sown ' in drills. If one has the time, and is willing to give the subject the ne- ■ cessary study, experiments can be conducted with a variety of manures, ' and methods of application. It is, however, of no use attempting to grow lucerne successfully unless the land is properly prepared to suit the plant. This point cannot be too much emphasised, and half the failures with lucerne are due to improper cultivation. The land must first of all be thoroughly cleaned, and ploughed. The only way to properly prepare land for lucerne is* to crop it for a couple of years with such crops as corn, wheat, barley, or oats. After, say, the second year’s crops have been harvested the land must then be thoroughly ploughed seevral months before sowing. After this ploughing, the land should be fallow, being thoroughly harrowed in the meantime, and kept well worked s.> as to destroy the growth of weeds. A deep ploughing is necessary for the first time, but where the fallowing has been well done, and the land reduced to a fine tilth, about five inches is sufficient for the second ploughing. Follow this by several good harrowings, and get the land as fine as possible. A light roller can i now be run over the land, followed |by a very light harrow, when the ; land is ready for sowing. The really | best method is to sow the seed with a [drill about 12-14 lbs. to the acre, having some drag chains behind the

drill. Remember that the working and ploughing ot the land are all important. Plough 10 inches the first, time, 'and it is advantageous to follow with a subsoiling to a depth of 12 Inches. The second ploughing must not be too deep, because this soil is what was turned up by the initial ploughing, and fallowed and worked and so brought to the requisite pitch of perfection. If the second ploughing is too deep this good soil is put out of reach of the young plants, which germinate near- the surface. When sowing lucerne do not sow with a nurse crop. An old fashioned idea, quite wrong, is that it is necessary to sow wheat with the lucerne, the idea being that the wheat will protect the young plants from frost if planted in the autumn. Autumn sowing is generally the best, as the young plants get a chance in life before the onrush of weeds in the spring. On no account must weeds be allowed to grow and check the young growth. The best method is to keep them mowed down. Run the mower over the crop when about five inches high, and repeal this a month or two afterwards. The first cut can seldom be carted off, and is best left on the ground, where it acts as a manure. Do not harrow the crop until the roots have got a firm hold, which can be ascertained by pulling them. Once the plant is firmly rooted, it will stand plenty of harrowing. Do not, however, harrow it whilst heavy frosts are about. The harrowing wants to be done directly after the cutting, and a disc harrow, crossed and recrossed, is very effective. At intervals of two years or so, lime the land after such harrow, about half a ton to the acre and put on with a drill. Never graze your lucerne, in fact, it is far better never to graze it at all, as it injures the crowns. Get either a drill or broadcast machine to sow the seed; hand sowing is not. advisable. Lucerne should be cut just after the flowers come into bloom. Fine weather should be selected because good hay cannot be made if rain falls on the cut plant. Do not start mowing until the dew is off the plant. A few hours after cutting, the drier and hotter the day the shorter the time, rake the hay into rows, and leave it thus (or about half a day, when it is readjy to put into cocks. If dull, moist weather sets in, however, leave it in the rows for a day or two. The time it should be left in the cocks, and when the right amount of dryness has occurred are matters •.■eqfiring some experience. If stacked too damp, it will heat and mildew, and if left too long, it becomes too dry, the leaves fall off and a great deal is wasted. It is important to keep it a good green col•gur, and not leave it too long expos£he right time to put the plant into staefc.. is when the stems feel crisp and dry?~'<Qhe stack should now be left io curlMK’JglP chaffing or baling, which takes abllffk six weeks or a little less in dry partis, In dry districts a reaper and binder' is very useful lor cutting, as the crop is kept cleaner, and the drying process is more normal. If wet weather sets iff, and a cutting of hay cannot be made, excellent ensilage can be made. The best method of storing lucerne hay is to put a roof over it, with a bed of logs at the bottom. No sides are necessary. Thatching is expensive, and is apt to be blown off in thunderstorms. Once the crop starts to die out, it is of no use to attempt reseeding, as it is only money thrown away. Break up the land, and sow with other crops for a couple of years before another stand of lucerne is made. Success can only be achieved by attention and study of this important subject. Seeing that a crop is to last for years, and remembering its great utility, it will repay any amount of trouble and attention. Unless really good seed is obtained, and the land faithfully worked, permanent success cannot be obtained. It pays far better to cut the crop and cart it off than to graze it. Growing for seed is quite another branch of the subject, and one about which the writer is not experienced. This is best left in the hands of experts, who have the right soil and locality. Any animal at all will thrive on lucerne, including poultry and bees. The great danger with it with cudchewing animals is that they are liable to get bloat or hoven. This is caused by the accumulation of large quantities of gas in the paunch, giving the animal a swelled appearance as if it had been blown up with a tyre pump. It interferes with the action of the lungs, and causes death from suffocation. There is an instrument called a trocar, which is thrust into the animal near the last rib, and when withdrawn allows the gas to escape. Such is the wonderful feeding capacity of lucerne that one acre, irrigated or grown naturliy if the rainfall is sufficient, will support ten cows in full milk. Once established it takes less trouble than any other fodder, and is very drought resisting, and can be grown in such a variety of soils and climates. Every landowner where possible should endeavour to have as much of this valuable fodder as h e can; it will repay him many times over in a bad season.