LUCERNE – CULTURE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XII, Issue 6, 20 June 1916, Page 456

LUCERNE - CULTURE.

A MOUMAHAKI FIELD.

Among the best-established and. cleanest stands of ■ lucerne in the Dominion is the area of some 15 acres at the Moumahaki Experimental Farm, known as Field No. 5. The accompanying photograph shows the field with the 'second cutting in progress last summer. The following particulars are supplied by Mr. T. W. Lonsdale, Manager of the Farm : The seed from which . the lucerne crop was established was sown in November, 1913. The history of the. field for the previous two years is, briefly, as follows : In 1911, following rape fed off with sheep, . Algerian oats were sown, no manure being supplied with this crop. After harvesting the oats the stubble was disked, and- a catch-crop of mustard, rape, buckwheat, and vetches was sown, the principal part of the crop being grazed and the residue ploughed under. Rye-corn was then sown, and manured with 3 cwt. of basic slag . per acre. This crop was also grazed with ewes and lambs and the land' again ploughed, and sown with swedes in December, 1912, 1 cwt. of basic slag, 1 cwt. Island phosphate, and 28 lb. muriate of potash per acre being applied with the seed. The swedes were carted off the land, after which vetches, bushels, and barley, 1 bushel, per acre were sown in July, 1913. . This crop was ploughed under early in October following, and immediately ■ afterwards ground limestone, .15 cwt. per acre, - was applied.. The land was then worked down for' lucerne, and a few days prior to sowing the seed 300 lb. per acre of soil taken from an established lucerne - field was applied and harrowed in. ' On the 14th November 13 lb. of lucerneseed per acre was sown 'on a well-rolled surface, 4 cwt. basic slag and | cwt... sulphate of potash per acre being applied at the same time. 1 Over the major portion of the field three varieties of lucerne were sown—namely, Colonial (Marlborough), Hunter River, and Tam worth. The yields from these three have been even throughout, and very, little difference •is noticeable in' any respect. A smaller section of ■the field sown with the Dryland variety has given less even results, and has been marked by an exceptionally long dormant ■ period. • The first cutting, a - light one, was made on the 14th January, 1914, since when seven crops have been

taken, and in addition the paddock has been twice grazed. The total yield, irrespective of grazing, has been 120 tons of hay, and approximately 200 tons of' green material carted to stock or made into ensilage. Each autumn the field has received vigorous cultivation with the solid-tooth cultivator and tine harrows, and is free from weeds.

LUCERNE AT BURNHAM.

Lucerne trials which present several special points of interest are those which have been carried out at the.... Industrial School, Burnham, on what is probably one of the most shingly portions of the Canterbury Plains. The Manager of the school, Mr. T. Archey, has supplied the following report to the Department’s Fields Instructor for the South Island, Mr. A. Macpherson, with whose co-operation the test was initiated :

The lucerne-seed you, sent me in 1911 was sown in November of that year in drills 9 in. apart: The area of the test was 1 acre, which was divided into four plots, as follows : Plot No. 1 was sown with seed only; plot No. 2 was sown with seed and inoculated soil; plot No. 3 was sown with seed and lime only; plot No. 4 was sown with seed, lime, and inoculated soil. The first cutting for produce took place early in April, 1912, with the dollowing results : Plot No. 1, 1,100 lb.; plot No. 2, 1,500 lb. ; plot No. 3, 1,900 lb. ; plot No. 4, 2,300 lb. (green weights throughout). The land was kept clean and worked constantly. Cutting took place four, times, and the total yield from the four plots was 12 tons. For the. following season the land was well cultivated, limed ton to the acre), and heavily dressed with mixed stable and farmyard manure and cleanings from Addington railway-sidings. Crops were cut four times, and the yield for 1913 and 1914 respectively was 15 tons. The year 1914 to 1915 was very dry, and, notwithstanding the labour and fertilizer, the yield was poor. The crop was cut with total result of 6 tons. For 1915 to 1916 I heavily manured with home-made fertilizer, made up as follows: (1) 1 cwt. powdered fowl-droppings, 1 cwt. dried gorse or wood ashes, 2 cwt. sieved soil from the shingle-pit; (2) 1 cwt. cow-dung plus wood-ashes and soil; (3) 1 cwt. sheep-droppings (powdered) ..plus wood-ashes and sieved soil; (4) 1 cwt. pig-dung plus ashes and soil. The whole of the' fertilizer passed through | in. sieve. In many instances I added 10 lb. to 15 lb. calcined .bonedust. On this acre I applied 25 cwt. of these various fertilizers and irrigated the plot. The crop has had five main cuttings this season, with a final light cut early in May, making a total yield of rather over 13 tons. As a forage crop I think lucerne unequalled.

Commenting on this report Mr. Macpherson makes the following remarks :

The manuring of this plot, like that of many others in the South Island, cannot be considered a success. The yield for 1914-15 would no doubt have been quite 15 tons had no manure been applied, and would have continued similarly during 1915-16. It will be noted that the crop for 1914-15, after the application of manure, was poor, and also that the past ' season’s yield was not up to that of the best years. It is much to be desired that definite tests be conducted- on lucerne plots as to whether fertilizers should be used or not after the crop has been established. Past experience appears to indicate that a well-established lucerne-field is better left alone, manuring only encouraging the growth , of weeds and grasses on the surface, which is injurious to the lucerne-growth ; whereas the lucerne feeds not from the surface but far down into the subsoil and below. .

LUCERNE MANAGEMENT IN POVERTY BAY.

Mr. A. G. Faulkner, of Wairakaia, Gisborne, a successful lucernegrower, forwards', the photograph of lucerne-stacking operations reproduced on the following page, together with the following note :

When once a lucerne-paddock is established (which in Poverty Bay is usually in the first year) it is very little harder to work than the ordinary clover or rye-grass paddock. ’The farmers one meets who think lucerne is only of value to the small dairy-farmer, if they only put in a couple of acres would realize what a valuable thing lucerne is. The number of sheep lucerne will carry per acre is greater than most readers of the Journal would believe. ' Cattle grazed do well on lucerne, and with an efficient stacking plant four or five men and a boy can stack from 14 tons to 16 tons of hay per day. In saving lucerne hay it is absolutely essential to have a swath-turner, as it is necessary to dry and stack the. hay as quickly as possible after cutting. * Lucerne and prairie-grass I find very satisfactory, but it is better to get lucerne well established before sowing the prairie-grass. In the second or third year we run the disk harrows over the paddock as often as necessary, and sow not over a bushel of prairie per acre. One often hears it- said that lucerne will not carry stock in the winter-time. This, I should say, depends greatly on . climate. and locality. Here, where frosts are very slight, a 6-acre paddock last winter carried seven dairy cows and ten hoggets for the four winter months, and the stock always had more than they could eat.