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Thirty-two varieties of lucerne were grown in swards at Deniliquin for a period of four years. Three of them exhibited outstanding %,inter growth and seedling vigour compared with Hunter River. These three, Hairy Perwian, African, and Indian, also had a slightly higher summer production than Hunter River, but were less persistent, particularly when irrigated and grazed. Persistence of these varieties under dryland grazing was satisfactory. No other variety produced more than Hunter River, but the American variety Lahontan appeared to be more persistent on irrigated grazed stands. Winter dormant types, particularly the Canadian creeping-roofed varieties, were all unsuccessful, The wide varietal differences demonstrated in these experiments suggest the possibility of genetic improvement cf lucerne through recombination of suitable characters. |
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