CULTIVATION PRACTICE
OF LUCERNE
BY
Seema Lamichhane
Sonu Singh
Sirjana Chaudhary
Sukra Raj Shrestha
Sushila Giri
CONTENTS 01
1. Introduction 2. Soil 3. Climate 4. Land Preparation 5. Sowing Time
6. Seed Rate 7. Plant Spacing 8. Nutrient Management 9. Water Management
10. Nutritive Value 11. Harvesting 12. Yield 13. Storage
CLASSIFICATION 01
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Spermatophyta
Class: Asterids
Family: Leguminosae
Genus: Medicago
Species: sativa
INTRODUCTION 03
Lucerne (medicago sativa ) Called as queen of
forage crops (probably the first crop to be
cultivated for hay).
Lucerne is a deep rooted, temperate, perennial
pasture legume (3-4 years) and drought tolerant
forage legumes which contain 15% crude protein
with 72% dry matter digestibility.
INTRODUCTION 04
Its deep-rooted system makes it easy to adaptable to dry seasons.
It is generally grown in rabi season as important fodder. Deep root can dry
the soil and thereby increase the capacity of soil to store water in the
time of excess, which reduces ground water recharge.
In one season 7-8 cutting can be taken with average fodder yield of 280
to 320 quintal/acre.
Lucerne is excellent food for all classes of stock but while in green stage
feed with safety for young ones, otherwise causes disturbances of digestive
system.
INTRODUCTION 05
When made hay, the crop forms a very valuable standby to supplement
the grass during the dry season.
Morphologically, the plant is about 5-6 m height with serrate leaf and has
multiple branches.
Flower are blue but can be purple or yellow.
Flowers are small pea shape 12-15 mm long and forms in cluster of 20-30.
SOIL 06
Lucerne can be cultivated in wide variety of soil. However, well drained
fertile soils with neutral pH are ideal.
It cannot thrive on alkaline soil but can be raised on acid soils with liberal
application of lime. It does not thrive well on very heavy and waterlogged
soils.
Lucerne needs a fine well leveled seedbed with adequate moisture. Well
drained heavier soils however can provide very successful sites where
good seedbed can be established and compaction is avoided.
CLIMATE 07
It grows in areas receiving as a little as 325mm annual rainfall but also
provide good summer production in area up to 700mm rainfall.
Out-of-season production can be used to reduce supplementary feeding
requirements.
Lucerne has good drought tolerance and is well suited to irregular rainfall
pattern.
But it will appear to go dormant during extended dry periods.
Lucerne produces high quality green feed.
LAND PREPARATION 08
Fertilization & liming should be done before seedbed preparation.
Apply fertilizer and lime according to soil analysis
and preceding crops.
Compressed soils need to be loosened first.
After that, seedbed preparation can start.
For a perfect seedbed, the top soil should be flat and fine. Lucerne seeds are
small.
Lucerne requires free draining soil types and does not like waterlogged conditions.
SOWING TIME 09
The best time to plant is in April.
However, the most efficient use of the land usually occurs when comfrey is
planted after the harvest of small grain or other early season crops.
Root cuttings should be planted before September, while transplants or
crown divisions can be planted as late as early October.
Planting late in season has the advantage that the land can be summer
fallowed to kill weeds.
SEED RATE 10
The Seed Rate depends upon the type of farming, methods &
Varieties.
Broadcasting: 20-25 kg/ha
Line Sowing: 12-15 kg/ha
PLANT SPACING
A suitable spacing of (50 cm × 20 cm) and sowing depth differ
from 1-2 cm
NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT 11
Apply and spread FYM or compost @12.5t/hectare on the unploughed field
and incorporate the manure into the soil during ploughing.
Apply NPK fertilizer as per soil test recommendation of 25:120:40 kg per
hectare.
Do not apply more than 30kg per hectare to Lucerne in the seedbed
because higher N application can reduce nodulation and ability to fix N in
the soil
WATER MANAGEMENT 12
It needs more irrigation than any other legume species.
This is the plant which is completely dependent on irrigation .
First time irrigation is done after sowing of seeds and there is the
necessity of doing irrigation frequently till the seedlings come upto 8 cm
above the ground level.
Irrigation should be done subsequently at flowering stage.
Lucerne requires about 1200 mm water/yr
NUTRITIVE VALUE 13
It can support not only growth but also increase milk production
It contains 18-22% crude protein and 25-35% crude fiber according to the maturity.
Lucerne plant is the one which has the highest quantity of vitamins and minerals.
Vitamins in Lucerne :- Vitamin A, Vitamin B1( Thiamine ), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B5,
Vitamin B6, Vitammin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin C & Folic acid.
Minerals in Lucerne :- Iron, Copper, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Boron, Calcium, Potassium,
Sodium, Silicon, Zinc, Selenium, etc.
Amino acids in Lucerne :- This plant has a rich content of amino acids as it contains 14 amino
acids
HARVESTING 14
The flowering of Lucerne will start at the end of
February and ends at the end of April, Then the crop
will be set for cutting.
The first harvest 60-65 days after sowing.
When harvesting for high quality, the first cut should be
taken when the plants are around 30-40 cm in height.
Leave a 7-10 cm residual after cutting to encourage
a fast growth.
The remainder of the cuts should be taken at the 30-40 cm height, up until the
longest day; this is generally 35-45.
HARVESTING 15
Rats will spoil or damage the fields by cutting the roots or the rabbits will eat
the aerial parts of the plant. This will affect the yield in a drastic way and for
this, proper care should be taken to the plants in order to protect them from
these animals.
Collection of the yield is done when the maximum of the pods turn brown in
color. The seeds which are dry are isolated from the pod by threshing them
with sticks.
YIELD 16
Generally, 100 kgs of seeds are obtained for one acre, but by following the
practices of cultivation mentioned above, you can get up to 180 kgs of
seeds for one acre.
POST HARVEST MANAGEMENT
Lucerne herb is allowed to get dry under the sheds which are open and
allow air so that all the medicinal and nutritional values will be maintained.
Drying them under the sun will decrease the contents of vitamin, especially
Vitamin C. The material of the plant should be dried at a temperature of 35
to 40°C.
