How to avoid creeping
BY JOYCE BUPP
Staff Correspondent
BAIR That green out in your
alfalfa fields this summer may not
all be valuable dry matter. If the
green crawls, creeps or flies, you’d
better take a closer look.
And, according to Stan Gesel,
Penn State entomologist, if the
green is walking sideways, you’ve
probably got potato leafhoppers
and most likely a problem in the
making.
Leafhoppers, which do not
winter here but migrate m from
the South about June 1, are only
about an eighth-inch long, wedge
shaped and a yellow-green color.
But this tiny insect can wreak
havoc to hay stands, especially
new seedlings.
A yellowing of alfalfa leaves is
one outward sign of leafhopper
infestation. The insect stings the
leaf, sucks out plant juices and
leaves behind the real culprit, a
toxic material that plugs up the
system of internal vessels that
feeds the leaves. Plants- become
stunted in growth, have lowered
disease resistance and may
eventually die.
Just one leafhopper per alfalfa
stem can result in a two percent
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protein and 10 percent hay crop
weight loss, or about $l9 per acre
in yield and quality losses
Since spray costs run an
estimated $8 per acre, forage
producers must watch closely to
determine when infestations are at
the level where spraying is an
economic investment
Gesel recommends checking the
pest populations with a sweep net,
taking 20 sweeps at each of five
different locations in the field
being studied.
Sweep the net in a 180-degree
half circle, sort of a one-handed
golf swing, into the first three-or
four inches of the alfalfa stand.
Hold the insects m the net and
empty them into a large paper bag
Fasten the bag top tightly closed
and sit it in the sun for about a half
hour. The heat from the sun will
kill the insects so that they can be
counted. For quicker results, sit
the bag m a very low, 120 degree
oven for five minutes
Charts with infestation damage
levels and spray recommendation
programs are available through
the county agriculture extension
offices
“Don’t cut back on alfalfa seed
costs, that’s too small a hay cost
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een Jjf Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 14,1981-C27
&
imput to be Primping on,” voiced
two of the forage seminar
speakers, economist Donald Dum
and agronomist John Baylor, both
of Penn State.
Seed and pest control costs are
actually two of the lowest dollar
imputs per acre of alfalfa hay.
dcxoiomg to OaU Uitse iwu
specialists have accumulated over
several years of research in
forages.
Forage producers can expect to
spend $145 per acre just to
establish an alfalfa stand, so each
year that a field can be kept
profitably productive will stretch
the initial investment And, it takes
another $226 annually per acre just
to operate that hay stand, almost
40 percent of that in machinery
costs Fertilizers and hme claim
another 20 percent of the annual
operating costs, while labor and
land investment contribute a third
Low yields from poor stands and
high machinery overheads boost
the cost of operating each acre
The economist’s data shows that
3.6 tons of hay per acre are needed
just to break even, based on 1979
cost imputs
But top hay producers in
4-^r
/ * w
Since 1945
state, says agronomist John
Baylor, are harvesting twice that
tonnage. Baylor’s figures stem
from his work with the Penn
sylvania Alfalfa Growers
program.
This Penn State research,
reported to be probably the best m
depth forage study m the country,
is a six-year cooperative effort
between the University and hay
growers from across the state who
pencil-pushed detailed cost and
yield data on their alfalfa
acreages.
The top 10 producers in the study
averaged about seven and one-half
tons per acre of hay equivalent in
both 1979 and 1980, or about one
and one-half tons protein and four
and one-half tons total dependable
nutrients
Most of these top yields were on
tested limestone soil, all con
ventionally seeded except for one
no-till, and planted in a variety of
seed types
Each of the top yields had one
notable thing in common they
used liberal quantities of manure
in rotation.
Most stands made four cuttings
and one produced five, and
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production went for both haylage
and dry hay
Cutting intervals were mostly at
35 to 40 days, with a slightly longer
period allowed before the last
cutting.
The test stands also required
fewer sprayings, which the
researchers attributed to an all
around better management
program. Best yields came mostly
from fields in their first full year of
production.
Baylor noted that these top
yields had an exceptionally high
nutrient removal rate, showing the
importance of maintaining high
fertility levels on hay crops
He especially stressed a regular
soil test program and abundant
levels of phosphorus and
potassium.
Trial research data also em
phasized the need to watch trace
nutrients carefully, particularly
boran and sulfur, which often are
present at only marginal levels.
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