TH6 JOUHNAfe 



OP 



^•f[Q department of Mgricutture 



OF 



VICTORIA. 



Vol. XIV. Part 8. 10th August, 1916. 



LUCERNE MANURIAL TESTS. 



STATE RESEARCH FARM, WERRIBEE. 



.4. E. V. Richardson, M.A., B.Sc, Agricultural Superintendent. 



Lucerne is one of the staple crops of the irrigation areas, and its 

 cultivation is rapidly extending. In 1914-15, there were 71,217 acres 

 of lucerne in the irrieration settlements of the State, as compared with 

 55,535 acres in 1913-14. Its cultivation is spreading through Gippsland, 

 where the ample rainfall enables heavy crops to be grown without 

 irrigation. 



Water Requirements of Lucerne. 



Where soil and climatic conditions are favorable to its growth, 

 lucerne is one of the most profitable of forage crops. It requires, how- 

 ever, considerable quantities of water to produce heavy cuts of hay, and, 

 given a well-drained soil and a warm climate, the yield of hay is, 

 within certain limits, approximately proportional to the rainfall, or to 

 the amount of irrigation water applied. In carefully controlled tests 

 at Rutherglen and Werribee, to determine the Water Requirements of 

 the crop, it has been found that at least 7 inches of rain or irrigation 

 water were required to produce a ton of lucerne hay per acre. Allowing 

 for the inevitable loss of water from the soil by evaporation, it would 

 hardly be possible to grow a ton of lucerne hay under Victorian condi- 

 tions on much less than 9-10 inches of rain or irrigation water. To 

 secure annually a yield of 5 tons ,per acre, lucerne must have an 

 amount of water equivalent to 45 inches of rain. If the rainfall, say, 

 is 20 inches per annum, then, to secure a yield of 5 tons per annum, the 

 rainfall must be supplemented by another 25 inches of irrigation water. 

 It will be seen, therefore, that, apart from the quality of the soil, heavy 

 yields of lucerne are only to be ex.pected — 



(1) In districts of abundant rainfall, or 



(2) Where subterranean water is within easy reacli of the 



lucerne roots. 



(3) Where irrigation is practised. 

 8022. 



