Alfalfa Best Practices Dan Undersander University of Wisconsin UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Select varieties with increased Winterhardiness Less winterkill Less winter injury – more yield UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy.
Download ReportTranscript Alfalfa Best Practices Dan Undersander University of Wisconsin UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Select varieties with increased Winterhardiness Less winterkill Less winter injury – more yield UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy.
Alfalfa Best Practices Dan Undersander University of Wisconsin UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Select varieties with increased Winterhardiness Less winterkill Less winter injury – more yield UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Choose best establishment method • Direct Seeding • Oats with Poast Plus or Roundup • With Companion crop •Oats •Ryegrass UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Causes of Seeding Failure Low soil pH Loose soil Seeding too deep UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Control weeds during the first 60 days after establishment UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Harvest first cutting of new seeding early Take first cutting at 60 days after planting More additional cuttings – higher tonnage Less weed problems UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Harvest first cutting of established stands by quality Relative Feed Value 190 170 150 130 First Cutting Second Cutting Third Cutting September growth 110 90 70 50 1 UWEX 2 3 4 5 10 20 30 Days after Midbud Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Variation in forage quality among years 280 260 240 2003 RFV 220 2002 200 2001 180 2000 160 1999 140 120 100 5/3 5/13 5/23 6/2 6/12 6/22 Date UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Forage Quality Stick UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Yield (tons DM/ac) Cutting Height Effect on Forage Yield by Cutting 2.5 Cut Cut Cut Cut 2.0 1 2 3 4 1.5 1.0 0.5 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cut Height (inches above soil) Clark and Wood County, WI 1999-2000 UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Yield (tons DM/ac) Total Forage Yield (3 cuts) 6 y = 5.9 - 0.5x 5 R2 = 0.65 4 3 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cut Height (inches above soil) Clark and Wood County, WI 1999-2000 UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Relative Feed Value RFV by Cutting Cut 1 Cut 2 Cut 3 Cut 4 160 140 Avg slope = 4 120 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cut Height (inches above soil) Clark and Wood County, WI 1999-2000 UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Effect of mower type on alfalfa stand and yield Sickle Cutterbar Disc mower Average First Cut Yield (t/a) 1.47 Stand Persistence Plants per sq ft 1.49 6.2 6.2 UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Conditioner types Flail/impellers Rubber Rolls UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Rollers vs flail (impeller) conditioners UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Conditioner drying rates Alfalfa Grass UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Conditioner field losses 60 The loss is all leaves so forage quality is significantly reduced. 50 NDF (% of DM) Flail conditioners have 2 to 3 % higher field losses with alfalfa. Stems 40 30 20 Leaves 10 0 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Weeks from early bud stage UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Adjust conditioner properly Tension on rollers Spacing of rollers UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Adjust conditioner roller spacing Measure clearance where “Crimp” or smallest clearance occurs UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Put hay into wide swath Dries faster Higher TDN UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Minimize wheel traffic damage No traffic Traffic UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Minimize wheel traffic damage UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Managing to Reduce Wheel Traffic Loss Minimize driving on field Use smallest tractor for equipment Merge windrows where possible Go to larger equipment Take most direct route to edge of field Make road to drive on UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Managing to Reduce Wheel Traffic Loss Minimize driving on field Do driving on field soon after harvest Manage to dry forage quickly Harvest for haylage or baleage Use preservative and harvest wet hay Use of duals not recommended Apply manure quickly after cutting UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Assess stands and replace when thin UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Yield is the most important component of profitability Fixed costs same regardless of yield e.g. taxes, land costs, machinery depreciation Production costs similar Harvesting costs similar Slightly higher for extra fuel and labor to harvest higher yield and haul to barn UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Dollar Return per acre Alfalfa Yield and Dollar Return from Wisconsin Green-Gold Program $1,000 Profitability increases with yield because fixed inputs remain constant and variable inputs increase only slightly as yield increases. $800 $600 $400 $200 $0 2 4 6 8 Yield (t/a) UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Yield of alfalfa as stand ages (% of 1st production year) Yield (% of 2nd Year) 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 seedyr 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ages of Stand (Years) UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Stand assessment – UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Benefits of shorter rotations are great: Increased alfalfa yield from younger stands Increased corn silage yield following alfalfa 10 to 15% higher corn yields following alfalfa More legume credits Less rootworm insecticide needed following alfalfa UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Alfalfa Legume Credits Med, Fine Soils Sandy Soils -----Regrowth after last cutting----->8 inches <8 inches >8 inches Stand Density <8 inches -------lb nitrogen/acre------ Good, > 4 plt/ft2 190 150 140 100 Fair, 1.5 to 4 plt/ft2 160 120 110 70 Poor, < 1.5 plt/ft2 130 90 80 40 UWEX Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005 Alfalfa Stem Count and Yield Potential Dry Matter Yield (t/a) 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 10 UWEX 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 Stems per Square Foot Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2005