The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1900-08-02
IRRIGATION OF ALFALFA.
How Much Water Gives the Best.
Results?
New Turkestan Alfalfa.

alfalfa as u hay crop" is the title OF a
bulletin prepared by Prof. B. G. Buffm,
theaAgriculturist of the Wyoming K
pertinent station, and his treatment of
the subject is of moro than passing in
terest to farmers of the great arid re-
gion, where no other plant is held in
such high esteem by those who have had
the largest experience in irrigation farm
ing. although alfalfa is extremely
hardy" says Professor Buffum, land
will live through long periods of drouth
it will not produce hay unless irrigated.
1t is of vital impo lance to apply water
at the right time and conduct the irri
cation in the right way. Flooding as
the native meadows are flooded for long
periods of time is much more quickly
fatal to alfalfa than it is to our best ma
tive grasses. 'lt will not do to turn the
water on and look at it once a 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 a 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 lmmedi-
tely after the hay has been removed.
Some irrigate just before the hay is cut,
but our observations indicate that much
better results are obtained by irrigating
after cutting. If. the weather is very
dry, light irrigations may be needed be-
tween the cuttings. We believe in irri-
eating in the fail, 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.
"Ioo much water is fatal either 10 the
summer or winter. On the Wyoming
experiment farm one season we irrigated
one half of a 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 lin be-
tween 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 portion.
Duty of water on Alfalfa. by duty
of water We mean the amount which is
used on the land. Alfalfa is a perennial
plant which occupies the land all the
time. Its growing season is long and
that it requires a p~roportionally large
amount of water would be expected"
Here Professor Buffum presents a table
showing the amounts "a water used on
fourteen different crops of alfalfa" The
table shows he continues, shat We have
not used very large amounts of water in
the production of alfalfa. Our measure.
ments of water used or native hay shows
that only about one half the water was
used On alfalfa as on the native hay
An average Ct cheese fourteen measure
ments 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 meas
urements made by the station on oats
wheat and barley, shows 2.T4 acre feet
applied to each acre of those crops. The
only class of plants upon which less
water has been used by the station thar
on alfalfa has been root crops.