Lucerne Seed

Choose by how much winter feed you need and how long the stand has to last. Winter activity is rated from 1, very dormant, to 10, extremely winter-active. Highly winter-active types (8–10) keep growing through winter and suit short phases in a crop rotation, while less active types (5–7) grow less in winter but usually persist longer under grazing or cutting. Most of our range sits between 7 and 9.

Yes. Dryland lucerne is grown across WA from about 350 mm of rainfall on deep, well-drained soils. Its deep taproot uses summer rain and subsoil water that annual pastures miss, giving green feed out of season and helping to control rising water tables. Dryland sowing rates are low, typically 2–5 kg/ha of bare seed and a little more for coated seed. Avoid shallow, waterlogged or strongly acid soils.

The usual culprits are acidity, waterlogging and sowing too deep. Lucerne suffers aluminium toxicity once soil pH (CaCl2) falls below about 4.7, and even short spells of waterlogging can kill it. Lime acidic paddocks to above pH 5.0 well before sowing, inoculate with Group AL, sow 1–2 cm deep into a firm, moist seedbed, and control weeds and red-legged earth mite early.

In WA, dryland lucerne is usually sown in winter, soon after the cropping program is finished, or from late August to mid-September once weeds are under control. The later window lets you clean up winter weeds first, provided there's enough moisture. Either way, sow into moist soil, 1–2 cm deep, after a thorough knockdown, and inoculate with Group AL.

Graze lucerne rotationally: one to two weeks of grazing, then four to eight weeks of rest so the plants can rebuild root reserves. Take stock off before they start eating the new shoots coming from the crown, and never set stock lucerne. Give the stand a longer rest in autumn, and keep stock off when the ground is waterlogged.

Introduce stock gradually and never put hungry animals onto lush lucerne. Fill them up on hay or dry pasture first, start with short grazing periods, and use bloat oil or capsules for cattle during fast regrowth. Red gut in sheep also comes from lush, low-fibre lucerne, so keep roughage available. Check stock often early on, and keep sheep vaccinated against pulpy kidney.

Cut lucerne at about 10% flowering, or when the new shoots at the base of the plant are 3–5 cm long. That balances yield, leafiness and protein, and gives the plant time to rebuild root reserves between cuts. Cutting earlier, time after time, weakens the stand, while cutting later adds stem and lowers quality. Rake and bale gently to keep the leaves.

A well-managed lucerne stand usually lasts three to five years, and often longer under careful rotational grazing or cutting. Stands thin out faster with set stocking, waterlogging, acid soils, and pests and diseases such as aphids and root rots. Once the stand is thin and weedy, cropping the paddock uses the nitrogen it has built up before you resow.

Lucerne is the best perennial legume for this on suitable deep, well-drained soils across the wheatbelt and South West: its deep roots respond quickly to summer storms, producing high-protein feed when annual pastures have died off. On deep sands, sub-tropical grasses such as panic and Rhodes grass do a similar job. For a quick one-off, a summer forage crop such as millet can use stored soil moisture.

Yes. As a 3–5 year phase, lucerne adds nitrogen, breaks cereal disease and weed cycles, and gives out-of-season feed. The trade-off is a dry subsoil. Removing the stand the spring before cropping lets moisture and nitrogen build up for the first crop, while removing it later keeps water tables lower. Highly winter-active varieties suit shorter phases.