The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-07-27
ALFALFA DEMANDS
FERTILE GROUND
Farm Adviser Tells Cape County
Growers How to Prepare
the Soil.

A considerable number of new al
falfa fields will be seeded this season
and some old stands will be prepared
and resolved. The work should be
done thoroughly or not at an because
the alfalfa grower in this county can
not with any certainty depend on good
luck or chance, on the other hand,
there is nothing mysterious about al
falfa growing and it is a crop that
yields we'll and leaves a nice profit on
the investment.
Do Not Put Alfalfa On Thin Soil:
Alfalfa does not thrive on poor soil
and as rule time and money is wasted
when it is seeded on land that is not
fertile enough to produce a good crop
of clover or corn. Manure or crops
plowed under will remedy this condi-
ton, however, barnyard manure should
be applied before the ground is plow-
ed. Unless this is done grass and
weed seeds in the manure will inter-
fere seriously with the young alfalfa.
Flowing And Lining: Alfalfa land
should be broken to a good depth as
early in the season as possible and
worked down to a firm seed bed. In
this section practically all land needs
an application of woodashes or ground
limestone for best results. Alfalfa will
not thrive on sour soil. Experience
has amply demonstrated this. Al
though there are a few fields that are
apparently not in need of lime, they
are so rare that they need not be taken
into consideration. Two tons of ground
limestone applied to the freshly brok-
en- soil and worked in with disk and
harrow is usually satisfactory. Apply
the lime as far in advance of the date
of seeding as possible. The finely
ground stone is better because it is
available sooner and it takes some
time for the soil acids to act.
Innoculation And Seeding: Ground
that has never had alfalfa, innocula-
ton is necessary. This may be done
by scattering 100 or 200 pounds of
dirt per acre from thriving plot of al
falfa. The dirt should be scattered on
cloudy day or late in the evening and
narrowed in Immediately. The bac-
terra cannot stand the effect of direct
sunlight. Fifteen pounds of seed per
acre is a satisfactory seeding. One
half Of the seed should be sowed each
way and then narrowed in. This re-
suits in a uniform stand. Better still,
drill the seed with an alfalfa or clover
seed drill. These drills have been used
successfully in this county. One inch
is a satisfactory depth to drill the seed
Alfalfa should be seeded early enough
to make a good growth in the fall. A
well developed root system enables the
plants to better resist the effect of
alternate freezing and thawing. Aug.
18th is satisfactory date to SOW and
later than Sept 18th is not safe. Early
seeding is much to be preferred. Only
a good grade of seed should be used
and seed from the West and Northwest
is much harder and more drouth re-
sistent than Southern seed. The ex-
perience of practically every success
full alfalfa grower in the county has
proven that alfalfa requires, for prof
liable yields the conditions stated here |
1t has passed the experimental stage |
and prospective growers have the ben
eft OF their experience.