Seasonal growth of an Australian cultivar of creeping-rooted lucerne (Medicago sativa)

Stand density after establishment and yield of the first Australian creeping-rooted lucerne bred in Canberra, were compared with those of the cultivars Hunter River, Hairy Peruvian, Du Puits, and African under markedly differing climatic conditions in 13 trials in eastern, southern, and south-western Australia. A highly significant cultivar X locality interaction was detected in each of the three seasons (spring, summer, and winter) in which yield was measured. Differences in the relative yield of Hunter River and the creeping-rooted lucerne in environments differing in temperature account, in part, for this effect. In environments of moderate summer temperatures such as the tablelands of New South Wales and Tasmania, the sward yields of the new cuitivar measured in spring, summer, and winter were similar to those of Hunter River, but were significantly inferior in areas with high summer temperatures.