The fastest growing fodder crop for livestock is lucerne. In addition to its undeniable dignity, it has a high protein content, and is therefore very nutritious and useful for animals. Also, this culture is used as a siderate and green fertilizer.
Lucerne sowing - a perennial plant, and you need to know the exact time when it needs to be sown. After all, this plant is very sensitive to a lack of moisture and untimely sowing can ruin or significantly reduce the yield.When to sow lucerne - in the spring or in the autumn?
Agrarians believe that the best result is the sowing of alfalfa in April. After all, in this period in the earth there is a lot of moisture, which is vital for young shoots. Frozen or falling temperatures are not terrible for crops, which begin to grow actively at a temperature of + 1 ° C. But the closer the matter moves to the summer, the smaller the slope will be sown, unless lucerne is sown in places with high soil moisture and regular precipitation. In some regions where it rains all summer, the seeds of alfalfa practice to sow throughout the summer season, but this is more likely an exception to the rules.
When to sow lucerne in the autumn?
Autumn crops give a more meager crop, but still have a place in agriculture. Some truck farmers sow the seeds of alfalfa in September, when there are still warm days. But most often this leads to the fact that in dry soil the seeds germinate reluctantly and the shoots will be uneven and weak.
Such a decision can only be dictated by the fact that, before frosts, the green mass is buried in the ground as fertilizer, but for the livestock of such a volume it will clearly not be enough.
Many are wondering whether it is possible to sow lucerne for the winter. It turns out that the best option is to sow it just before the cover and frost. In this case, the seeds will overwinter well in the ground, and in spring it will be possible in May to get a good slope from the site.