Lucerne
Common name: Lucerne/Rizka
Botanical name: Medicago sativa L.
Lucerne is known as ‘Queen of forage crops’. In India,
lucerne is mostly grown in irrigated areas of Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and in Leh area of Ladakh. It
is generally grown during rabi season as an important
fodder crop, in areas where water supply is inadequate for
berseem and winter period is short. Its deeper root system makes it very well adaptable to dry areas
with irrigation facility. It grows well as rainfed or un-irrigated crop in high water table areas. It is
perennial (3-4 years), persistent, productive and drought tolerant forage legume which contains
15% crude protein with 72% dry matter digestibility. It supplies green fodder for a longer period
(November - June) in comparison to Berseem (December - April), although lucerne is a native of
temperate region, but it can be successfully cultivated even in most of the countries of the tropics.
It can also withstand well under fairly low temperatures.
Soil and its preparation
Lucerne can be raised on a wide range of soils. However, well drained fertile soils with neutral pH
are ideal. It can not 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 seed-bed with adequate moisture. For proper seed bed preparation, ploughing the field
once with mould board plough and 3-4 times with country plough, followed by planking each time
is sufficient. A fine seedbed ensures better contact of seeds with soil particles and facilitates quick
and better germination.
Varieties
Variety Area of cultivation Green fodder yield
(t/ha)
Sirsa-8 Northern zone 80-85
Anand-2 Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh 80-100
Anand-3 Hills (cold dry zone) 40-50
RL 88 Entire growing tract 75-100
CO-1 Tamil Nadu and Karnataka 80-90
T-9 Northern zone 80-95
Sowing time
Middle of October is the best time for sowing lucerne. However, it can be sown from the end of
September to early December.
Seed rate and sowing method
A seed rate of 20-25 kg/ha is sufficient for good crop growth when it is broadcasted, while in line
sowing a seed rate of 12-15 kg/ha is required. It can also be sown through seed drill or desi plough
with solid planting and row to row spacing of 25-30 cm. The seed should not be planted deeper
than 1.5 cm. Under broadcast method of sowing, it is very important to cover the seed as soon as
possible with soil. Care should be taken that seed should not go more than one cm deep as seed
size of lucerne is very small.
Cropping Systems
It is usually raised after harvest of kharif crops, such as Sorghum, Rice, Soybean, Maize, Cowpea,
Cluster bean etc. It can be raised in rotation with almost every grain or forage crop. The most
common crop rotations adopted are Maize - Lucerne, Rice - Lucerne, Sorghum -Lucerne, Green
gram - Lucerne, Soyabean - Lucerne, Cowpea + Maize (fodder) - Lucerne, Sorghum (grain) –
Lucerne - Maize (fodder), Napier grass – Lucerne, etc. Sometimes it is raised mixed with Berseem
to get the continuous supply of green fodder till May - June, where Berseem is completely finished
in hot months of April and May.
Nutrient management
Lucerne responds well to FYM application on sandy
loam soils. Being a perennial crop, it is beneficial to
apply 20 t FYM/ha every year. Being a legume crop, it
fixes the atmospheric N in soil through symbiotic
bacteria. Seed inoculation with Rhizobium meliloti is
recommended, where lucerne is being cultivated for the
first time. Besides this, a basal dose of 20 kg N, 60-75 kg
P2O5 and 40 kg K2O/ha is also required. Boron deficiency is generally noticed in leached and
coarse textured soils. Spray of 0.2% borax, can boron deficiency. Iron deficiency, leading to
chlorosis, is fairly common in poorly drained alkaline soils. Liming the soil well in advance of
sowing is helpful in areas where soil is acidic. Application of 20 kg/ha each of S and Zn along
with 2 kg/ha of Mo may enhance the effectiveness of biological nitrogen fixation.
Water management
To obtain good germination, pre-sowing irrigation (palewa) is essential in lucerne. Since lucerne
takes a long time to establish at early stage, very frequent irrigations may be required at the interval
of 7-10 days. Later on, this interval may be extended to 25-30 days as its root system gets well
established. During summer, interval of irrigation should be reduced to 15-20 days. The crop
requires about 15-20 irrigations in a year.
Weed management
Lucerne takes a long time to establish itself and gives ample scope for weed infestation up to the
first cutting. It is very difficult to control weeds in broadcast crop. If crop is sown in lines, weeding
and hoeing become easier. First weeding should be done 20-25 days after sowing. Pre-emergence
application of Pendimethalin 1-2 kg/ha or post emergence application of Diquat @ 6-10 kg/ha (5-
10 days after sowing) effectively controls Cuscuta.
Disease and insect-pest management
Lucerne weevil and aphid are two important insects of this crop. These insects can be managed
through the application of neem oil @ 30 ml per litre of water. The most important diseases of
lucerne are rust, leaf spot, downey mildew and phytopthora rot. Application of Dithane M-45
(0.25%) as spray is effective for rust and leaf spot control. Spraying with Mancozeb is
recommended for control of downey mildew. Phytopthora root rot occurs in wet soils especially
when free water persists for an extended period. Use of resistant cultivars accompanied by
optimum water management is recommended for its management.
Harvesting management
The first cut is taken 50-55 days after sowing and the subsequent cuts at an interval of 25-30 days
when crop attains the height of 60 cm from the surface of the soil. In a year, 8-10 cuts can be taken
between October-April with 80-120 t/ha green fodder and 18-20 t/ha dry fodder yield. The
perennial varieties can be retained for 3-4 years in the same field.
