Yerington times. [volume] (Yerington, Nev.) 1907-1932, 1913-05-10
NEW VARIETIES OF ALFALFA.
Snecies Found in Eurasia Seem to be
Adapted to Geld and Drought.

Considerable interest has been
aroused through the importation by
the United States department OF agri-
culture Of some new, hardy varieties
of alfalfa. Little. however IS gencr-
aIlv known concerning the characteris
ices OF these new alfalfas or the real
nurDose Of their introduction.
In the search for hardy forms OF
common alfalfa (AIedicago sativa)
adapted to severe conditions OF
drought and cold. the potential value
Of closely allied species became appar-
cnt A yellow -fowered species (Medi-
cago falcata) found widely distributed
throughout Eurasa. forms Of which
thrive on the cold, dry steppes OF Rus
,ja and similar regions, seemed to be
the most promising For this reason
persistent efforts were made to i'm
mort many valuable forms of this spc
Cics
Ncdicago falcata, erroneusly called
Siberian alfalfa. and Tor which there
i no satisfactory common name, l.
characterized i'll general by its droop-
ing habit. narrow leaves and hnc
stems: but ii is SO variable that some
plants may be readily mistaken for
common alfalfa when not iii flower
Very few of the forms possess true tai
roots like the common alfalfa, but they
have a branching root system by
which new plants are produced. The
flowers are yellow and the seed pods
Ialcate or sickle shaped. hence its
botanical name.
The department OF agriculture has
met with many difficulties III procur-
ing seed in quantity. as 1t Is not hand
led commercially and i'll no place Is IT
produced in abundance. In spite OF the
scarcity of seed very thorough tests
have been conducted. both under cul-
tiyation and on unbroken sod at the
department testing stations and III
cooperative experiments at State sta
iions. The results OF these tests OF
The available forms OF Medicago fal-
cate indicate rather definitely that
their chief value i fer crossing with
common alfalfa to produce hardy and
drought resistant hybrid strains At
present the new alfalfas do not APP
pear to be sufficiently productive 10
make them generally profitable under
cultivation. Many OF the forms are
unqucstionably very hardy and
have already shown their value a.
stock for crossing with varieties com
monty known
One Of the hardest. If not the hard
Jest. OF our common strains, the
Grimm alfalfa, probably originated
through natural liberalization of Med
icago falcata and common alfalfa
Grimm alfalfa i coming into very
wide use in the northwestern States
The new alfaias have not yet been
tested on the open range a FULLY a.
under cultivation Although the re
suits to date indicate their inability tC
maintain themselves except under
very favorable conditions. the test.
are nevertheless being continued with
the hope OF ultimate success IN i'm
proving the range
The experts Of the department do
not believe. that this owtowcred
alfalfa in its unsolicited state Is crop
for the farmer to test even though
seed were available Three main con
sidcrations show that II j. not likely
to prove valuable under cultivation
% Most of its forms are not Suttici
cntlv erect 10 be easily harvested for
hay; (2).it does not recover quickly
after cutting and cannot be expected
10 give more than one cutting during
the season: 90 its seed habits are
usually poor. the seed being Scantily
produced and shattcring badly at ma
turitv
The department OF agriculture is
pushing the work OF selection BY
naturalization OF the best forms of this
species as rapidly as possible, in the
hone that valuable drought resistant
aud aAlI vaa,etaAt - t1ti.
matelv be established in general use.