Use resistant variety to battle alfalfa disease
DE KALB, II Combatting
diseases in alfalfa is a battle best
won when the first blow is struck
by planting disease-resistant
varieties. Producers should
determine their major disease
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problems, then plant a variety
offering the best resistance.
Clifton Parker, regional
agronomist for DeKalb-Pfizer
Genetics, says alfalfa producers
are facing increased disease
1
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pressures each year. He says the
following diseases are worthy of
note:
Bacterial wilt: This is the most
common alfalfa disease found in
the United States. Bacterial wilt
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Westminster, Md.
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VERNON L STUP CO.
Frederick. Md
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Lineboro, Md
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Lancaster firming'’Saturday, May 5,1984—D11’
plugs the water transporting
vessels of an alfalfa plant, slowly
weakening it over a two- to three
year period, until the crop is
choked out. Producers can easily
identify bacterial wilt, since it
produces yellowish leaf tissue, and
normally healthy plant leaves
shrink and become cup-shaped.
Plants with bacterial wilt also
display a discoloration of the root
system.
Phytophthora root rot: Common
especially in low lying fields and in .
poorly drained, heavy soils.
The disease gains a foothold
when plants are submerged by
excessive moisture for two or three
days. Parker says the root system
begins to discolor rapidly, turning
from light brown to orange.
Damage is swift, he says, since 70
to 80 percent of a crop can be killed
in just two to three weeks following
flooding.
Anthracnose: Severe in the Mid-
Atlantic region, anthracnose
quickly is spreading to the Mid
west. its spores are carried by
winds, then deposited in the soils.
During heavy rains, splashing
pushes the diseases onto the stems
of the alfalfa plants, forming
enlongated, diamond-shaped
locinnc Usually found during hot,
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moist weather, loss can amount to
20 to 30 percent in less than one
month.
Verticillium wilt: Identified in
the United States in 1976, Ver
ticillium wilt is considered the
most destructive disease in nor
thern Europe. It has been iden
tified in most northern alfalfa
producing states, Parker says.
Spores are carried by winds or
farm machinery. Symptoms in
clude curling leaves with yellow or
pinkish discoloration that turn
brown, die and drop from the plant
leaving green erect stems.
Crop rotation is one method of
controlling certain alfalfa
diseases, Parker says. Effective
chemical controls are not
available at this point.
Parker emphasizes the only sure
way to control diseases is through
the selection of a disease-resistant
alfalfa varieties, such as DKI2O,
DKI3S or Advantage from DeKalb-
Pfizer Genetics.
Parker says other factors im
portant to proper variety selection
include winterhardiness,
longevity, fast start, performance
under wet and dry growing con
ditions, regrowth and crude
protein levels.
AND
MARTIN
WATER
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