Season and Varieties
| Lucerne Meal Preparation Video |
| Zone District/Season | Month | Variety |
| Irrigated | ||
| Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Krishnagiri and Theni | Throughout the year | CO 2, CO 3 and CO 4 |
Particulars of Lucerne Variety
| PARTICULARS | CO 2 | CO 3 | CO 4 |
| Parentage | Poly cross derivative involving CO 1 | Poly cross derivative involving CO 1 | Poly cross derivative involving CO 1 |
| Duration (Days) | Perennial | Perennial | Perennial |
| Green fodder yield (t/ha/year) | 130 (14 harvests) | 125 (14 harvests) | 120 (14 harvests) |
| Seed yield (kg/ha) | 245 | 250 | 250 |
| Quality characters | |||
| Protein content (%) | 23.5 | 19-21 | 19-21 |
| Dry matter (%) | 16.8 | 22 | 23 |
| Dry matter yield (t/ha/year) | 21.94 | 27.50 | 27.60 |
Special features of Lucerne CO 2
| Special features of Lucerne CO 2 More number of stems per crown with soft and dark green leaves High crude protein (23.5 %) and dry matter yield (21.94 t/ha/yr) Profuse flowering nature leads to enhanced seed yield Superior ratooning ability and early flowering render 14 harvests per year Highly palatable, preferred by milch cattle, goat, sheep and horses | |
| Profuse flowering of Lucerne CO 2 |
- More number of stems per crown with soft and dark green leaves
- High crude protein (23.5 %) and dry matter yield (21.94 t/ha/yr)
- Profuse flowering nature leads to enhanced seed yield
- Superior ratooning ability and early flowering render 14 harvests per year
- Highly palatable, preferred by milch cattle, goat, sheep and horses
Crop Production:
| Preparatory cultivation | : | Plough 2 to 3 times to obtain a good tilth and form beds and channels of convenient size |
| Seed rate | : | 20 kg/ha |
| Spacing | : | 25 cm x solid stand. |
| Manures and fertilizers | : | Basal FYM - 25 tonnes/ha NPK - 25: 120: 40 kg/ha |
| Seed rate | : | 15 kg/ha |
| Spacing | : | 25 cm apart in lines |
| Weed management | : | Hand weeding whenever necessary |
| Plant protection | : | Generally not required for fodder production |
| Water management | : | Immediately after planting; life irrigation on 3rd day and thereafter once in 10 days. |
| Harvest | : | First harvest 60-65 days after sowing subsequent harvests once in 20-25 days. |
| Green fodder yield | : | 90-130 t/ha/year (in 12-14 harvests) |
Management
Crop Protection:
Symptoms
| Symptoms | : | Defoliation, Feeding damage on flowers and seeds |
| Identification of insect pests | : | Eggs: Round, yellowish and singly laid. Larva: 2” long, greenish with dark brown gray lines and dark and pale bands. Chromorphism. Pupa: Obtect type, brown colour Adult: Forewing: Brown colour with a ‘V’ shaped speck . Hindwing: White with dull black border |
Defoliation, Feeding damage on flowers and seeds
Identification of insect pests
- Eggs: Round, yellowish and singly laid.
- Larva: 2” long, greenish with dark brown gray lines and dark and pale bands. Chromorphism.
- Pupa: Obtect type, brown colour
- Adult: Forewing: Brown colour with a ‘V’ shaped speck . Hindwing: White with dull black border
- Application of nuclear polyhedrosis virus (NPV) at 3 x 1012 POB /ha in evening hours at 7 and 12 weeks after sowing.
- Set up sex pheromone traps at 12/ha.
- Conservation and augmentation of natural predators and parasites.
- Release of egg parasitioid, Trichogramma chilonis at 6.25 cc/ha.
Seed Production Technologies
Land Requirements: Land shall be free of volunteer plants. Field Standards
A. General Requirements Isolation: Fields shall be isolated with following specified isolation distances. Land shall be free of volunteer plants. Field Standards
| Contaminants | Minimum distance (meters) | |
| Foundation | Certified | |
| Fields of other varieties | 400 | 100 |
| Fields of the same variety not conforming to varietal purity requirements for certification | 400 | 100 |
B. Specific Requirements :
| Season | : | Seed production is done once in a year during summer months Green fodder should be harvested during first week of March and allowed for seed production in such a way that the peak period of flowering should coincide with summer. |
| Pre-sowing Seed treatment | : | Treat the seeds with 600 g of Rhizobium and 600 g of Phosphobacteria before sowing. Seed rate : 20 kg/ha Spacing : 25 cm x 10 cm |
| Foliar application | : | Spray Borax @150 ppm to increase the seed quality. Spray ZnSO4 + Borax at 0.3% to improve pod and seed weight and also to increase the germination potential and vigour of seeds |
| Harvesting | : | Hand pick the pods at maturity stage |
- Seed production is done once in a year during summer months
- Green fodder should be harvested during first week of March and allowed for seed production in such a way that the peak period of flowering should coincide with summer.
Pre-sowing Seed treatment
- Treat the seeds with 600 g of Rhizobium and 600 g of Phosphobacteria before sowing.
Seed rate : 20 kg/ha Spacing : 25 cm x 10 cm
Foliar application
- Spray Borax @150 ppm to increase the seed quality.
- Spray ZnSO4 + Borax at 0.3% to improve pod and seed weight and also to increase the germination potential and vigour of seeds
Hand pick the pods at maturity stage
Seed Standards
| Factor | Standards for each class | |
| Foundation | Certified | |
| Pure seed (minimum) | 35 | 50 |
| Inert matter (maximum) | 2.0% | 2.0% |
| Other crop seeds (maximum) | 10/kg | 20/kg |
| Total Weed seeds (maximum) | 10/kg | 20/kg |
| *Objectionable weed seeds (maximum) | 5/kg | 10/kg |
| Germination including hard seeds (minimum) | 80% | 80% |
| Moisture (maximum) | 10.0% | 10.0% |
| For vapour-proof containers (maximum) | 7.0% | 7.0% |
Lucerne Seed Setting
| Bed Preparation | Sowing |
| Irrigation after sowing | Installation of sprinkler in Lucerne field |
| Weeding | Manual Harvesting |
| Harvesting by brush cutter | Green Fodder Yield |