Sceptre Lucerne

We recommend Sceptre Lucerne, which is highly recommended for shorter-term cropping rotations of 2 to 4 years in lower to medium rainfall zones. It's strongly tap rooted for drought tolerance and has an excellent pest and disease resistance profile. It suits sands to loams, dryland or irrigated.

Our Sceptre Lucerne suits drier country than many varieties, with our 2026 guide listing it for 350mm+ rainfall. It's strongly tap rooted, which gives it good drought tolerance, and it suits dryland or irrigated growing areas. It has performed well across a wide range of WA soil types and climatic conditions.

We recommend Sceptre Lucerne. It's Resistant to root knot nematode and Tolerant of stem nematode, and it performs well where disease and nematode susceptible varieties won't persist. It's also Resistant to Phytophthora root rot, Stagonospora crown rot and spotted, bluegreen and pea aphids.

Ideally lucerne should be sown into soils of pH 5.5 (CaCl2) and above, so we recommend soil testing and liming if you're below that. Our Sceptre Lucerne suits sands to loams and tolerates waterlogging and mild salinity. Ongoing fertiliser applications are also needed to support good production.

For Sceptre Lucerne we recommend 10 to 20 kg/ha under irrigation and 4 to 10 kg/ha on dryland. It has vigorous seedling establishment, producing strong, robust plants. Inoculate with Group AL, and because it's highly winter active it can be sown from early winter to early spring.

Sceptre Lucerne has a low crown, which makes it well suited to grazing, along with many fine, erect stems and large leaves. We still recommend rotational grazing with rest periods so plants recover. Watch for bloat in cattle and red gut in sheep on lush growth, and introduce stock gradually.

Yes, Sceptre Lucerne is ideal as the legume component of a pasture mix. It fixes nitrogen and adds summer-responsive feed alongside grasses. We can build it into a Custom Mix for your paddock, for example with a ryegrass like Wimmera, or Mission Veldt Grass on sandy country.

Lucerne is known for summer persistence thanks to its deep taproot, and Sceptre Lucerne is strongly tap rooted for enhanced drought tolerance. It's recommended for shorter-term rotations in lower to medium rainfall zones. Reduce grazing pressure through dry periods to protect the crown and keep the stand alive.

Yes, Sceptre Lucerne is ideal for hay, grazing and silage. It's a tall, large-leaved, highly winter active variety with good production in other seasons too. Its excellent disease and pest resistance helps keep stands productive between cuts, and ongoing fertiliser applications support good yields.

Sceptre is an older, widely adapted, highly winter active variety with a strong disease and nematode resistance profile, best suited to 2 to 4 year rotations. L97 is our most salt tolerant lucerne, with outstanding winter growth, suited to saline and non-saline soils in 400mm+ rainfall. Choose L97 where salt is an issue.