Lucerne varieties
Summary
Lucerne has undergone great development in Australia since spotted alfalfa aphids appeared in 1977, wiping out much of the country’s lucerne stands. At that time there was basically only one variety grown, Hunter River.
Over the following 200 years it became well adapted to our environment and grazing systems but it had no resistance to the aphids.
Australian growers now have the choice of more than 50 lucerne varieties currently on the market, but with this number available selecting the right one may seem daunting.
Topics include:
- Winter growth of lucerne
- Pests and diseases of lucerne in NSW
- Other problems
- Breeding lucerne varieties
- Seed companies
- Commercial varieties
- Table 1. Current lucerne varieties 2013
- Table 2. Other lucerne varieties (not available in NSW or superseded by new varieties).
