The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1900-08-03
IRRIGATION OF ALFALFA.
How Much water Gives Best Results
QUEIouEFoIs.

HOW Aanch w ater eIIyeS Best ReSultSf
"Alfalfa as Hay Crop is the title
of bulletin prepared by Prof. B. c,
Buffum, the Agricultur.st ofthe Wyom.
ing Experiment Station, and his treat
ment of the subject is of more than
passing interest to farmers of the great
arid region, where no other plant is
held in such high esteem Ky those who
! have had the largest experience in ir-
rigation farming
although alfalfa is extremely
hardy says Professor Bufrnm, land
, will live through long periods of drouth
it will not produce hay unless irrigated.
It is of vital Importance to apply water
at the right time and conduct the irri-
CATION in the right way. Flooding as
the native meadows are FODDER for
long periods Of time is much more
quickly fatal to alfalfa than it is to our
best native grasses.
WET FEET DANGEROUS.
cit will not do to turn the water on
and look at it once week to see that
it is still running. Alfalfa soon dies if
its feet are kept wet, and it needs long
breathing spells and warm growing
weather. Where the irrigating water
is cold it produces chilling effect, and
the irrigation should be done quickly
and the water turned off as soon as the
ground has become thoroughly wet.
The best time to irrigate alfalfa is i'm
mediately after the hay has been re-
moved. Some irrigate just before the
hay is cut, but our observations indi-
cate that much better results are OBJ
tanned by irrigating after cutting. If
the weather is very dry, light irriga-
tons may be needed between the cut
tings. We believe in irrigating in the
fall, some time after the last cutting
has been made, to keep the soil from
becoming too dry during the winter.
1t should not be done so late, however,
that the ground is apt to freeze hard
while very wet, as this seems to be the
principal cause of winter killing.
MODERATE WATERING.
''Too much water is fatal either in
the summer or winter. On the wyom-
ing Experiment Farm one season we
irrigated one-half of field of alfalfa as
late as October, leaving the other half
without water. The part irrigated
started earlier the next spring and up
to the time of the first cutting the
dividing line between that which had
not been irrigated and that which was
watered late in the fall was distinctly
visible, as the hay grew two or three
inches higher on the fall irrigated por-
ton.
DUTY OF WATER ON ALFALFA.
by duty of water we mean the
amount which is used on the land.
Alfalfa is perennial plant which oc-
cupies the land all the time. Its grow
ing season is long and that 1t requires
proportionally large amount of water
would be expected
Here Professor Buffum presents a
table showing the amounts of water
used on fourteen different crops of al
falfa. 1.-THE table shows he continues.
shat we have not used very large
amounts of water in the production of
alfalfa. Our measurements of water
used on native hay shows that only
about one-half the water was used on
alfalfa as on the native hay" An aver
age of these fourteen measurements
made at Laramie as set forth in the
above mentioned table shows the depth
of water applied to alfalfa to have been
2.22 feet. An average of six measure
ments made by the Station on oats,
wheat and barley, shows 2.74 acre feet
applied to each acre of those crops.
The only class of plants upon which
less water has been used by the Station
than on alfalfa has been root crops.
FAMOUS TURKEsTAN ALFALFA.
The first seed of this alfalfa was i'm
ported and sent out by the Depart
ment of Agriculture in 1895. Little at
tention was given it until the severe
weather of winter before last put its
hardness to the test On all parts of
the farm-plots at the Wyoming Station
the ordinary alfalfa showed more or
less winter killing, but not single
plant of the Turkestan variety had
been hurt. Similar reports were re-
ceived by the Department of Agricul-
ture from many other sections. Not
only does it seem harder but it has
generally produced heavier yields than
the common alfalfa. On the Wyoming
Experiment Station farm, averaging
the results for the last two seasons.
when cut for hay and cured alike. the
Turkestan variety clearly showed SUI
perior cropping qualities, producing
over three-fourths OF a ton more hay
per acre.
Secretary Wilson, of the Department
of Agriculture is greatly pleased at the