LUCERNE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 371, 4 November 1932, Page 2

LUCERNE

A PROLIFIC AND VALUABLE j FODDER CROP ON FARMS. I - I SIX CUTS'A- SEASON. Lucerne has at least three out- • sta'n'djng"virtues ih its •high'-yield per - acre, superior quality of f'ooder. j '"'It is Rot too'm.uch'' tO'exljeet-to cut up to .25 tons ef g-reen fodder from one acre of lucerne during one season! ' In Centraf Otago, where lucerne, un- J der irrigation, is a very popular crop, | six cuts in one season is by no means unusual. It used to be reckoned that a man witli TO acreS in lucerne ffiad a Steady jbh cutting and' harvestiiig the several -crbps that - matured each j season. It- is that capacity • of lucerne 1 to throw several crops in rapid succession th'at makes it such a heavy { yielder. j In the north from four to six cuts in'the: season" m'ay-"be safely looked fOr. '"Even if each cut -yielded- only six tons of green fodder per acre, and that would not he a heavy crop, that would equal from .24 to 30 tons green weight, or 8 to 10 tons of hay. Worked out on the basis of actual weight alone, one acre with a decent stand of lUcerne would, during - the - season,- -yield equal to five or six acres of good grass. r " When quality of fodder is taken into ' consideration, lucerne stands' in an even more favourahle light. No oth'er green crop that may be grown is so rich in limey- phosphates and proteins as is lucerne. Because of its capacity to dig deep down into the lower strata of the soil, lucerne h'aS a tremendously wide area upori which to draw for its supplies of plant food; In mineral halance, lucerne is looked upon as being nearest to the ideal that can be attained in any one crop, In any thing it errs on the side.of richness, and on that account should hot constitute the eritire feed of live "stock. A stand of lucerne properly laid j down and ' properly cared for is capahle of yielding four or 'five crops a year for a period of anything from 10 to 50 years, so that the cost price of each' ton of fodder is an extremely low one. Drought ReSisting. A valuable feature of lucerne is its capacity to produce succulent crops during periods of drought. Again,. because Of its' deep-rOotihg hahit, this crop 'is less:dependeht upon seasonal rains than is any other crop cohimonly grown in the Dominion. Lucerne may be depended upon -to make ' satisfactory growth even "when conditions "are so- dry as to seriously affect pasture and other crop growth. On this -account lucerne should make a very strong appeal to. dairy f armers in areas where' dry summer and autumn seasons are 'frequently experienced.