The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1911-10-13
SUGGESTIONS FOR SECURING A
GOOD STAND OF ALFALFA
ON IRRIGATED LAND
Land Preparation

The first requisite of any piece Of
irrigated land is good leyeling. This
operation should be done before pillow.
ing the field. Pillow or disk the high
spots and fresno them in to the hol.
lows, enough so at least, that The
water will readily pass over every
foot Of the ground. New land should
not be seeded to any perennial crop
for irrigation until after a grain OF
forage crop has been grown. If this
precaution is taken all the high spots
and irregular places can be noted
at the first irrigation; and after the
crop has been harvested, these can
be removed and the necessary filings
and cuts made to insure easy irriga-
ton. The even distribution of water
not only insures larger and more
uniform crop but it also reduces the
time and labor and greatly checks
soil washing.
The Seed.Bed
Alfalfa seed being. very small re-
qui.es firm seed-bed. The finer the
seed-bed the closer the seed can be
planted to- the surface, thereby in
surfing quick termination and first
growth. The treatment accorded soils
should, of course, vary with the type
of soil under consideration. Sandy
soils in this western country as a
rule are wind-blown soils, and conse-
quently are hard to handle. These
should be left in the stubble through
the winter and in the spring when ir-
rigation water is available, the soil
should be irrigated (if necessary =,
disked, firmed with an acme harrow,
seeded and prepared for irrigation
and kept moist mot wet) until a
good cover has been secured. Sandy
clay and sandy-clay-loam soils may be
plowed in the fall and left open to
the elements during the winter.
Freezing and thawing aid materially
in good seed-bed preparation. In the
spring when the soil is moist the land
should be double disked and firmed
with an acme harrow and # enough
moisture remains in the surface to
terminate the seed readily, the plant
ing should be done as soon after the
acme narrowing as possible. In case
of lack of sufficient moisture the
soil sho Id be carefully irrigated and
the narrowing done with the acme
harrow repeated as before. A clay
soil should not be handled when wet
as good seed-bed cannot be secured.
Seeding
1t is always best to plant home
grown seed, as it is already accli-
mated to your locality. Insist on
pure, clean, bright seed. Twelve
pounds of seed to the acre is ample
for an excellent stand If a proper
seed-bed has been prepared, provided,
of course, that all the seeds germin-
ate. A termination test can be run
while the land is being prepared and
the rate of seeding determined &C.
cordingly. A firm close seed-bed will
terminate a higher percentage of
good alfalfa seed than will an open
loose seed-bed. And coordinate with
this an open loose seed-bed will
require more seed to secure the same
stand.
Time to Seed
In the southern part of the state
spring seeding has proved by far the
better and least expensive, more es-
pecially so where irrigation water is
paid for by the acre foot. There is
naturally less evaporation during the
spring months the soil contains more
rains occur frequently and
no
care should be taken in summer seed
Ing, as evaporation is higher and the
seed naturally being planted shallow
is more subject to the greater heat |
and increased evaporation. Summer
seeding should be irrigated oftener |
than spring seeding to keep the soil |
from baking until the ground has be-
come shaded.
The Experiment Station at Cald-
we'll has not succeeded in getting
stand of alfalfa from fall
There is not sufficient
growth made to carry the plants
hro gh the winter and in the spring
he ground is usually baked and very
lard and the young plants are smo-
hSACu pCAOlC IACy CdA ludhc SuuClSuI |
growth.
Depth to Seed
The depth to seed should vary with
he time of season, the condition of
he seed-bed, and the amount of
valuable moisture. In spring seed
ng very shallow planting should be
ractised as the ground is cool and
Moisture as rule is plentiful. Broad
asting and narrowing under, or
eeding about an inch deep with q
Fill is best under these conditions.
In summer seeding the soil is
'armcr and moisture not as plentiful
nd unless irrigated and seeded i'm
lediately, deeper seeding can safely
G practised. But in any case seed
lg deeper than an inch and one-half
} two inches should not be done. II
.e seed-bed is loose and a little bit
ough, the alfalfa seed must be plant
d deeper to insure good termination.
Irrigation
Wherever a soil hakes or woahoc