Growing lucerne as a fodder crop
Medicago sativa, commonly known as lucerne, is a fodder crop grown worldwide for its high-quality protein and fibre content, making it a preferred choice for livestock feeding, including cattle, goats, sheep, and pigs.Lucerne can be grown either as an intensive high-production crop under irrigation or as a dryland fodder crop in areas with an annual rainfall of less than 500 mm.
Lucerne is well-adopted to a wide range of climatic conditions, but it requires specific soil conditions, particularly in terms of acidity and drainage, which farmers should take note of.
To grow lucerne, a farmer needs to loosen the soil with a digging fork to a depth of 25 – 30 cm or utilize a disc plough to loosen the soil to a depth of 30 - 45 cm. The soil must be well-drained with a pH of about 6.0 to 7.0. The farmer should sow the Lucerne seeds at a depth of 0.5 - 1 cm, spacing them out at 15 cm between rows and 5 cm within each row. For a 1-ha plot, it is recommended to use between 12 to 18 kg of seeds.
Farmers are to plant semi-dormant varieties that are more suitable for grazing and have a longer lifespan of 5 to 7 years in the field. When lucerne is grown in a well-fertilized soil that is rich in nitrogen and has a neutral soil pH, it grows its foliage (leaf zone) vigorously ensuring that more grazable material is available for hay production. Farmers should keep in mind that the optimal time for planting lucerne is usually between February and May. By July, the crop is ready to be harvested either with a mower mounted onto a tractor or by using a slasher to reduce it to a length of 10 cm.
Profitable enterprise
After harvesting, it is dried for about four days before it is racked and baled. Care must be applied after cutting and baling to ensure that regrowth is rapid. Applying nitrogen fertilizers such as urea in the irrigation setup is essential and if the cutting frequency is about every 42 days, it may result in farmers cutting and baling lucerne about eight times a year.
Weeds can be controlled selectively by using eco-friendly pesticides that retard the growth of grasses and with lucerne being tolerant to frost and dry spells, farmers can control weeds by using Glyphosate SC sprayed over the field of production.
Lucerne production is a profitable enterprise for livestock-oriented farming nations. In particular, supplying lucerne during the dry season (May to November) of the year can generate income for farmers. With a small-scale plot of about 0.5 ha (5,000 m²), farmers can support a small number of cattle or sheep by fulfilling their daily 3% needs during tough times such as drought.
Furthermore, lucerne is a legume that can convert atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form for other crops to use after its lifespan.
In conclusion, lucerne is an essential crop for livestock farmers. Anyone with a small piece of land can grow this beneficial crop to provide essential crude protein and fibre to their livestock, especially during periods when all forage material on the rangeland is dry.
* Hanks Saisai is Agribank’s Technical Advisor: Crops & Poultry
** Opinion pieces and letters by the public do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial team. The editors reserve the right to abridge original texts. All newspapers of Namibia Media Holdings adhere to the Code of Ethics for Namibian Media, a code established jointly with the Media Ombudsman.