Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1913-05-02
NOTES ON STARTING
THE ALFALFA CROP
81 PROF. r. A. MOORE,
Wisconsin College of Agriculture

Encouraged by the fact that Wis
eonsin won the worlds championship
in alfalfa hay at the latest National
Corn show, many Badger state far
mers will try the crop on their fields
this year. and establish the state sim
more firmly as an alfalfa common
wealth.
Although alfalfa is q crop which
must be thoroughly understood if it
is to be grown successfully, the prin-
ciples Of its culture are relatively sim
pie.
Among the earliest directions re
garding alfalfa were the commands to
select fertile, well drained piece OF
land, to try only small patch at first.
and to inoculate the soil taken from
field already well established, This
Is as good advice now as when first
| given.
1t Is taken for granted that the far
mer has already selected his field with
an eye as to it's suitability for alfalfa,
plowed it in fall to secure deep, mel
low, and firm seed bed, and corrected
any soil acidity The problem of start
ing the plant right Is now the most
| important one
To make sure of a properly pre-
pared seed bed in the early spring. run
the disc over the land and then follow
with fine tooth harrow at weekly
intervals until about June 1. so the
weeds will sprout and be killed. This
treatment will conserve moisture and
heat the soil. The alfalfa seed Is then
sown without any nurse crop, using
| 20 pounds of seed per acre. II the
| land is known to be very weedy Ii is
best to continue the cultivation
through June and portion Of July,
and then SOW the seed.
The practice of sowing alfalfa with
a nurse crop is being displaced by the
method If sowing the seed alone. and
with much better results, provided
the land is not weedy. The tiny aifal-
ia plants should have chance to take
full possession of the ground, which
they cannot do to advantage If crowd
! ed by a nurse crop. While expert
ments show that good catches of al
falfa are occasionally secured by the
use of a nurse crop, yet much better
catches and a more lasting seeding
can be secured by sowing the alfalfa
seed alone The seed can be sown
with hand seeder or grass seeder
attachment to good advantage. When
sown by hand seeder, or when broad
easted with seeder attachment, a
slant tooth harrow should be run over
the land once after seeding, to cover
lightly.
1t should be sown less than an inch
deep on clay soils, or the tiny plant
lets will not be able to push their way
to the surface. Land plowed in spring
for alfalfa should be dragged as soon
as plowed to prevent drying out. end .
pIanker or roller should be run over
the land before and after seeding. AL
ways finish by using fine tooth har
row so as to leave the surface loose
enough to prevent rapid evaporation
! The alfalfa crop is benefited by light
coating of we'll rotted manure. or ma
nure that is free from coarse litter
It should be put on during dry spell
or after the ground is frozen in the
fall. SO as not to injure the plants by
driving over them.
Experiments show that on rich soil
barley is one of the best nurse crops
although oats or spring wheat may bt
used. The nurse crop should be sowr
thinly, using only about half as much
seed as where the cereal crop is sow
alone. When alfalfa is sown with {
nurse crop, the time of seeding Should
be governed by the best time for tht
cereal. The seeding can be done witt
one operation. provided drill or seed
er is used with a grass seeder attach
ment. 1t is preferable to let the alfal
| ia seed scatter broadcast and ther
run a slant tooth harrow over the
ground once after seeding. Some gooC
seedlings have been obtained where
the seed was run through the drill
but the tendency is to cover too deep
ly where this practice Is followed. i
the season is extremely dry, it is besi
to cut the nurse crop early for hay
and thereby give the alfalfa a better
opportunity to grow. Otherwise the
cereal crop can be left to ripen and
harvested in the usual manner Many
good stands of alfalfa have been Sc
cured in this way.
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