20 The Farmer–Stockman
October 2006
Crops
Alfalfa is solid cash crop
By J.T. SMITH
Some other factors
Key Points
T
HE relentless, unforgiving
drought in 2006 resulted
in a lot of hay traveling
the highways of the Southwest
— many times, alfalfa.
Good alfalfa was a highly
sought-after commodity. But
before you plant alfalfa for your
own needs or for customers,
know some basics. One of the
biggest is when to seed.
Calvin
Trostle,
veteran
Texas A&M Extension agronomist, Lubbock, has some basic
guidelines.
■ Fall seeding only. Spring
seeding is more subject to
wind damage, insects and weed
problems; you can lose your alfalfa plants. Getting started for
hay production “sooner” with
spring seeding is just not worth
the risks. Spring-seeded alfalfa
just never seems to catch up.
■ Good stand establishment.
For alfalfa, this requires a firm
seedbed. The rule of thumb
suggests that, as you walk
across the field before seeding,
the heel of your shoe should
sink no more than ³⁄₈ inch into
the soil. As long as weeds don’t
become a problem, it is nice
to have your seeding area pre-
■ Alfalfa can be a top cash crop
for some.
■ Fall-seeded alfalfa is preferred
to spring.
■ Alfalfa needs sufficient
irrigation to grow.
TEXAS
A&M
Extension
agronomist
Calvin
Trostle says
fall is the
right time to
seed alfalfa — not spring.
pared well ahead of time to possibly receive a packing rainfall.
■ Soil test. Base any fertilizer applications on the recommendations of the soil test.
Contact your county Extension
office for assistance.
■ Extra
preplant
phosphorus. Once you have your
soil test, consider some extra
preplant phosphorus. If the soil
test is “medium,” still plan to
add another 50 pounds of P2O5
per acre. If the soil test is “low,”
you might add 100 pounds of
P2O5 per acre.
You must have sufficient irrigation water to grow alfalfa.
“To reach top production,
alfalfa requires more inches of
water per acre than any other
crop grown on the Texas High
Plains,” Trostle notes.
He suggests fitting your alfalfa acreage to at least 7 gallons per minute per acre for
irrigation or more if you are
using a side-roll system. Some
producers like to have 10 gallons per minute.
Mike
Kizer,
Oklahoma
Extension agricultural engineer,
notes water requirements for
alfalfa range from 40 inches in
the Oklahoma Panhandle to 46
inches in southeast Oklahoma.
During an average rainfall year,
23 inches of supplemental
irrigation is needed in the
Oklahoma Panhandle (where
it rains less), and 17 inches in
southeast Oklahoma to reach
maximum yield potential.
Select a variety with acrossthe-board “high” resistance to
common alfalfa insect and disease pests, Trostle suggests.
For the Lubbock and southeastern Texas Panhandle region,
consider a fall dormancy rating
no higher than 6 (the higher
Identify blister beetles in alfalfa
WO years of drought has
resulted in a lot of hay
being trucked in for horses in
Texas.
“Understanding that we
are in the middle of a twoyear drought and local hay is
in short supply, many horse
owners are purchasing and
feeding alfalfa,” says Eddie
Baggs, Denton County, Texas,
Extension agent. “Since
this area [Dallas-Fort Worth
region] is not generally known
for alfalfa production, most will
be trucked in from other states.
As in past years, horse owners
are forewarned to inspect alfalfa for deadly blister beetles
before feeding. Also, make
sure that you ask a few questions before buying, such as
where it was grown and what
cutting it is out of.”
Baggs says blister beetles
can sometimes enter alfalfa
fields and end up in the harvested product. These beetles
contain a toxin called cantharidin. Although the beetles are
dead, the cantharidin in their
bodies is very stable, and presents a hazard to horses when
consumed. The toxin severely
irritates the horse’s digestive
tract and often causes death.
Also, contact with skin causes
blisters. The exact number of
beetles to produce toxin reaction in horses is variable, but
15 to 20 can cause illness.
The larvae of blister beetles
feed on grasshopper eggs, and
so, the populations correlate.
the number, the more prone
to winter kill and reduced
stand longevity). Trostle says
if northwest of Lubbock toward
Amarillo, Texas, or Clovis, N.M.,
a fall dormancy rating of 4 or 5
would be wise.
Make sure your alfalfa seed
has been inoculated with
Rhizobium so you can increase
your potential for nitrogen fixation by the plants.
Consider 20 pounds of seed
per acre (based on pure, live
seed), especially if your seeding
equipment is not highly accu-
rate. Some producers, in certain situations and with highly
accurate equipment, might get
by with less, but be sure to use
enough seed for a good stand.
Let your fall-seeded alfalfa
go to as much as 25% bloom
in the spring before your first
cutting. You might go 30 to
35 days between cuttings, although some growers use a
28-day cycle. But let the alfalfa
have six weeks of growth in the
fall before the last cutting.
See more on weeds at
lubbock.tamu.edu/othercrops.
T
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