Lucerne Seed

Lucerne is one of the oldest forage crops on the planet, with usage dating back over 4,000 years. In fact, Roman armies carried Lucerne with them to feed their horses wherever they settled.

Why grow Lucerne?

It produces high quality proteins, 18-20%, with good energy content, whilst being a more than suitable match for maize. With the current prices of both fertiliser and raw materials being at an all time high, Lucerne can be a profitable and sensible way of feeding your stock.

Inoculants

As a legume, the seed requires inoculants to aid germination. It is important to mix the inoculants just before planting and then it must be used within 3 days of planting as the inoculant is live.

Our new variety, Nutrix Max is already dressed in an inoculant.

Establishment

It is vital to get the correct plant population the first time around as patching up an established crop doesn’t usually work. When sown in the spring, it is important for the crop to flower in the first year of sowing. Some people plant a light sowing of Spring Barley with the crop, so the first cut will be a mix. 

Fertiliser for Establishment

In general, Lucerne does not require Nitrogen during establishment or thereafter, this is because it’s a legume and is able to fix nitrogen into the soil for its own use. It will also leave residual nitrogen for use by subsequent crops. However, if the Lucerne is following a particularly hungry rotation (e.g., cereals) a small quantity can be beneficial.

If slurry is applied before drilling this usually provides sufficient nitrogen in organic form but note that excess nitrogen application will inhibit root nodulation and reduce the Lucerne’s ability to fix nitrogen into the soil.