Alfalfa in South Dakota: Twenty-One Years of Research at the Redfield Ts Ation S
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South Dakota State University Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange South Dakota State University Agricultural Bulletins Experiment Station 9-1-1946 Alfalfa in South Dakota: Twenty-one Years of Research at the Redfield tS ation S. Garver Follow this and additional works at: http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_bulletins Recommended Citation Garver, S., "Alfalfa in South Dakota: Twenty-one Years of Research at the Redfield Station" (1946). Bulletins. Paper 383. http://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_bulletins/383 This Bulletin is brought to you for free and open access by the South Dakota State University Agricultural Experiment Station at Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Bulletins by an authorized administrator of Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange. 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BULLE:TIN J8J SE:PTE:MBER 1946 ALFALFA . 1n SOUTH DAKOTA TWENTY-ONE YEARS RESEARCH at the REDFIELD STATION TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction -------------- --- --------- --------- ---------- 3 Burning of alfalfa fields and its effect The values of alfalfa under northern on survival and growth ---------------------- 52 Effects of cultivation on survival and conditions ------- ------ ---- ------------------------ 3 Importance and distribution of alfalfa in yield --------------------------------------------------- 54 Effects of cultivation each year on the No rth and South D akota ____________________ 3 survival and hay yield of mixed seed Conditions at the RedfieldStation __________ 5 ings of alfalfa and brome grass -�-------- 55 Place in the cropping system ------ ---------------- 8 Effects of top-dressing annually with Soil requirements ----------- --------- ------------------ 9 straw, manure, and commercial fertil izer on the survival and hay yield of Description of varieties ------------ -------------------- 11 a 1fa1fa ----------------- --------------------------- ------ 5 6 Variegated varieties ------- ------- ----- ------------- 11 Effects of harvesting at different stages Domestic strains of Common ________________ •13 of growth on the survival and hay Varieties of Tu rkistan origin __________________ 14 yield of alfalfa ---- ------ --------------- ---------- 57 Yellow-flo wered varieties ----------------------- 15 Effects of frequency of harvest for hay Foreign varieties - --- ------------------- --------- --- 16 and seed on the survival and yield of Preparation of the seedbed --- ----------------------- 17 alfalfa -------------------------------------------------- 5 8 Seed quality------------------------------------------------ 18 Root characteristics ----------------------------------- 61 Effects of thickness of stand on root Inoculation -------------------------------------------- ----- 2 0 development --------------------------------------- 61 ------- -- - -- --- -- - -------- -------- - ------ Seeding - -- - - - - ---- - - - - 20 Root and crown yields of varieties ________ 62 Seeding equipment ----------------------------- --- 20 Root-branching characteristics of Seeding alone vs. seeding with a varieties ------------------------ ---------------------- 63 companion crop --------------------------------- 21 Production of adventitious shoots by Seeding in widely-spaced rows ______________ 23 severed tap and branch roots ______________ 66 Time and depth of seeding ____________________ 23 Alfalfa for hay --------------------- - -------------------- 67 Rate of seeding -- -- --------- -- ------ ---- ----------- ---- 24 Effective haying equipment ___________________ 68 Seeding in mixture with brome grass ____ 25 Time and frequency of cutting ____________ 69 Stand survival ------------------------------------------- 25 Cu ring -------------------------------------------------- 69 Longevity of stand required for Storing in stack and mow ------------------- --- 70 economical forage production ____________ 25 Alfalfa for pasture ----------- ---- ---------------------- 70 Factors affecting stand survival _____________ 25 Pasture management ----------------------- ------ 70 Varietal stand su rvival -------------------------- 29 Precautions to prevent bloat __________________ 71 Hay yields ---------------------------------------------------- 41 Mixed seedings of alfalfa and brome Effects of stand injury on hay production 42 grass for pasture ---------------------------------- 71 Effect of late spring freezes on hay yields 43 Effects of stage of growth at harvest on Alfalfa for silage ---------------------------- ----------- 71 hay yields -------------------------------------------- 43 Alfalfa as a soil improving legume ____________ 73 Hay yield when alfalfa is sown in Seed production ______________; ___________________________ 73 mixture with brome grass ________________ 4 3 Varietal hay yields ---------------------------------- 44 Varieties to grow for seed --------------------- 73 A summarization of varietal hay yield Conditions favorable for seed setting data --- ------- -- ------ ----------------------------------- 4 8 and development ___ ------------ --------------- 73 Harvesting --------- ----------- -------------------------- 7 4 Treatment after seeding ------------------ ------------ 51 Threshing, cleaning, and storing __________ 7 4 Clipping fir st-year seedings of alfalfa Rodent, insect, and disease control ____________ 75 withou t companion crop for weed Summary ----------------------------------------------- ----- 7 6 con trol ___________________________: ____________________ 5 2 Alfalfa in South Dakota1 Twenty-One Years Research at the RedfieldStation SAMUEL GARVER2 Introduction Adapted varieties and the use of the best field management practices are essen tial to the successful culture of alfalfa in the Dakotas and adjoining regions. The Redfield station was established at Redfield, South Dakota, in 1914. Its purpose was twofold: ( 1) to introduce and develop more productive and cold-resistant varieties for the general area, and (2) to determine methods of planting and field treatment that more nearly assure the establishment and maintenance of stands and give larger yields of forage and seed. The recommendations made in this bulletin are based largely on the results of experiments conducted at this station. The Values of Alfalfa under Northern Conditions Alfalfa is the most valuable of the soil-improving legumes under conditions where stands can be maintained. It is of particular value for hay, which may be fed with good results to all classes of livestock. In the drier northern areas, it nor mally furnishes one or two cuttings a season. Where moisture conditions are most favorable, it furnishes two or three cuttings without harmful effects on stand. Alfalfa also makes an excellent pasture for hogs, horses, and mules. When precautions are taken to prevent bloat, alfalfa may be used for the grazing of cattle and sheep. With proper handling, it is satisfactorily used for silage. The more universal growing of alfalfa will increase livestock production and assure a better balanced agriculture throughout the region. Importance and Distribution of Alfalfa in North and South Dakota Hay was harvested from 1,095,876 acres of alfalfa in North and South Dakota in 1930. Of this amount, 216,876 acres were grown in North Dakota and 879,000 acres in South Dakota. As a result of severe drought in the years following 1930, extensive losses in alfalfa stands occurred, and the acreage of the crop cut for hay ·rapidly_ declined. By 1939, the acreage was reduced to 276,247 acres, or about 25 percent of the 1930 crop.3 Recovery in alfalfa acreage, due to improved moisture conditions through consecutive years, did not begin until 1940. In each of the following years there was a substantiaf increase, until by 1943 the acreage was restored to 456,868 acres or 42 percent of the 1930 crop. It is apparent that acreages of alfalfa in this region will decline during periods of cumulative drought, but these declines may be expected to lessen with the more general use of better adapted varieties and cul tural treatments. 1Contribution from the Division of Forage Crops and Diseases, Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Administration, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, in cooperation with the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station, Brookings, S. D. 2Associate Agronomist, Division of Forage Crops and Diseases, Agricultural Research Administration, Bureau of Plant Industry, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering. 3Based on data published by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture and Labor, and the South Dakota Crop and Livestock Reporting Service. 4 Bulletin 383, South Dakota Experiment Statio11 The greatest reductions in acreage during the 1930 to 1939 period occurred in the drier central and western portions of the two States. Since 1939, moisture conditions have been favorable for rapid increase in this region. However, no substantial alfalfa increase is shown, probably because war conditions made it more profitable to grow grain crops. The greatest recovery in alfalfa acreage since 1939 has taken place in the diversified farming areas in the eastern portion of the two states, where in 1943, 18 counties had an acreage equal to or exceeding that of 1930. Moisture abundance, winter cold intensity and snow cover affect alfalfa stands and, consequently, the distribution