The Book of Alfalfa: History, Cultivation and Merits: Its Uses as a Forage and FertilizerCoburn, F. D. (Foster Dwight)
History
The Book of Alfalfa: History, Cultivation and Merits: Its Uses as a Forage and Fertilizer
Coburn, F. D. (Foster Dwight)
Alfalfa
_Prof. James W. Wilson, Director South Dakota experiment
station._--Experience shows that a good stand of alfalfa can be secured,
if ordinary care be exercised in preparing the seedbed. It is not a
plant that does well when sowed on the native prairie sod after disking.
On the college farm during the spring of 1904 a small area of native sod
was disked five times; part was sowed to alfalfa and part to clover. The
next spring only a few scattering plants of alfalfa could be found,
while a fair stand of clover was secured. Good results have been
obtained with both the Turkestan and the American varieties. Neither has
winterkilled during the time, and the yield per acre in each case has
been good. A field sowed to Turkestan alfalfa in 1899 at Highmore Forage
testing station still produces good yields. The quantity of seed to sow
per acre depends largely on the way it is sowed, requiring more if
broadcast than when drilled. We suggest 20 pounds when drilled and 25
pounds when sown broadcast. The time to sow depends upon the condition
of tilth. Contrary to what is sometimes supposed, alfalfa does not
require a wet soil, but one that is well drained, with a loose subsoil.
The plants will stand cutting several times during the first year. This
method should be resorted to when sown on a field badly infested with
weeds, in order to secure a stand of alfalfa. In 1902 a field rented by
the college farm, which had been cropped for several years and become
foul with mustard, was sowed to alfalfa. It was cut three times during
the growing season, and the result was that in 1903 there was
practically no mustard to be seen, but a first class stand of alfalfa
was obtained.
_George E. McEathron of Beadle county_ writes: “I consider alfalfa and
clover culture practicable in this locality. I do not think it necessary
to inoculate soil for these crops in South Dakota. After the first year
I cut my alfalfa fields three times and secured an average yield of five
tons to the acre. I have never allowed seed to mature, always cutting
for hay. No trouble from winterkilling has been noticed.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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