The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1911-03-23
Agricultural Topics
Edited by W. G. Palmer
Agricultural College, N. D.
Alfalfa.

Alfalfa.
Alfalfa is the king among hay
crops, the queen among soil improy-
ers, the prince among drought resist.
ant plants. 1t comes nearer to giving
something for nothing than anything
else on the farm. 1t will produce
more hay per acre, and hay of a high
er feeding value than timothy. bronze
grass or western rye grass. In most
of North Dakota it will produce more
than clover, and especially west of the
Valley, and has a higher feeding val
ue. While giving that valuable crop
of hay it will at the same time leave
the soil richer in nitrogen and humus
every year that it occupies the land,
and supplies the very things that the
grain crops take out the fastest and
leaves the soil in the greater need of.
Still the whole story is not told, as
weeds cannot grow readily after the
alfalfa gets a good stand and if they
should grow q little the alfalfa is cut
before the weeds are ripe SO they IAN.
not go to seed. The roots go deep
and SO open up the soil better than the
subsoiler. The one disadvantage in
growing alfalfa is that it is a little
difficult to start; so when Il good
stand is secured it ought to be left for
several years. 1t is not a good rota-
ton crop like clover. This is really
no great drawback though, as it will
produce a crop that is worth more
than any other crop that can be grown.
Where will alfalfa grow and how
should it be started? Alfalfa will
grow on any good soil that is we'll
drained; in sand it will not do so we'll,
and hard pan interferes with its root
growth. Standing water is death to
it. When starting alfalfa it must be
kept in mind that alfalfa has bacteria
living in nodules or its roots. These
germs furnish the plant with nitrogen
which they take from the soil air.
They put it into a form that the plant
can use and so supply the alfalfa with
the nitrogen it needs and more too.
The alfalfa plant has in a measure
lost the power of taking nitrogen from
the soil as the other crops do, so it
can not make much growth alone. 1t
in turn furnishes the germs with food
of a different kind so it is a cooper
alive affair, each furnishing that
which it can secure the easiest When
the alfalfa is starting it does not have
the germs OF it's roots and so is very
delicate and must be given good care.
The germs will multiply faster in the
soil if it contains manure, and if the
germs r not in the soil it may he
necessary to introduce them. The
best way to do that is to get some soil
from a field that has been growing the
alfalfa successfully for a few years
and SOW it on the new field at the rate
OF 200 pounds per acre:
For North Dakota the best way to
prepare the soil is to manure for a
crop of corn-clean cultivate the corr
then SOY the alfalfa on the disced
corn stubble, putting in eight to ten
pounds per acre-and with the drill
SO as to get the seed buried, one to
two inches-do not SOW any nurse
crop with it. A bare fallow that has
been kept free from weeds will also be
a good preparation, az will also pota-
to ground. But in any ase it should
be MANFRED. When the alfalfa is up
eight to ten inches it should be Cut
back. This will not hurt the alfalfa;
in fact will do it good--but will be
hard on the weeds. Prof. Shaw re-
commends narrowing the alfalfa when
it is up five to six inches. This will
kill weeds and re-make the dust mulch.
When sown with the drill the plants
will be SO deeply rooted that it will
not pull out many plants if the harrow
teeth are set with a backward slant.
The amount of seed sown should vary
with the rainfall; under irrigation, or
where the rainfall is abundant, more
seed than specified above should be
sown. It was found at the Dickinson
sub-station that where the plants were
nine inches apart three cuttings were
secured in 1910 and the yield was near
ly q tons, while where the plants were
only two inches apart only one
cutting of about half a ton was Sc.
cured. In digging out the roots il
was found that where the plants were
far apart the roots went down sever
to eight feet while in the case of the
plants that were close together the
roots did not go down more than
three feet. Another important point
is to have a good covering on the field
in the fall to hold snow.
The best seed to SOW is that which is
northern grown. The Grimm has
proven to be one of the most hardy