Higher potassium levels help alfalfa outgrow quaekgrass
ITHACA, NY - A Cornell
University researcher has found a
way to suppress some weed pests
in alfalfa fields without using
herbicides while assuring con
tinuing, good alfalfa yields.
Rhonda Janke, a graduate
student in the New York State
College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences at Cornell, says that the
growth of quaekgrass can be held
m check and alflafa can flourish if
the recommended level of fer
tilizer potassium is maintained.
“If the potassium level is
adequate, the alflafa yield could
double,” Janke says. “When the
field is low in potassium, the
quaekgrass takes over, thus
reducing the alfalfa yield greatly.”
Recognizing the importance of
her work, the Charles A. Lind
bergh Fund has awarded Janke a
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ED MARTIN ADIN FREY
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|10,580 research grant to complete
her project. A Ph.D. candidate in
agronomy, Janke conducts her
research under the direction of
Gary Pick, a professor of
agronomy.
In her work, Janke found that
alflafa has the “competitive ad
vantage” over quackgrass-by far
the most common weed pest af
fecting alfalfa-when sufficient
amounts of potassium are main
tained. Competitive advantage
refers to the ability of alflafa to
maintain yield in the presence of
quaekgrass and to absorb
adequate amounts of available
potassium.
The potassium level needed to
give alfalfa an advantage against
quaekgrass depends on the results
of soil tests and soil types making
up the alfalfa field. Thus, the
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amount of potassium required
annually could range from a
minimum of 25 pounds to as much
as 200 pounds per acre, Janke
explains.
In her experiments over the past
three years, she used 100 pounds of
potassium each year, based on soil
tests conducted on her ex
perimental sites.
When less than the required
amount of potassium is applied,
quackgrass gains the “upper
hand.” In other words, the
quackgrass “steals” most of the
potassium, leaving little for alfalfa
to use. The resulting potassium
deficiency in the alfalfa field leads
to reductions in alfalfa yields,
according to Janke.
Janke’s work showed that if
farmers apply adequate amounts
of potassium each year after
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establishing the alfalfa crop, they
could realize much higher alfalfa
yields.
Preliminary results of her ex
periments conducted over the past
three years showed that the alfalfa
yield could double, thus increasing
the quality and the amount of total
hay (a mixture of alfalfa and
weedy grasses) by as much as 50
percent.
“When alfalfa is fertilized with
an adequate amount of potassium,
alfalfa outgrows quackgrass,”
Janke points out. “Thus, there is
no need to use large amounts of
herbicides.”
Such an herbicide-free alfalfa
production method is conducive to
the preservation of the en
vironment, a factor that prompted
the Lindbergh Fund to recognize
the importance of Janke’s work.
“The use of herbicides has many
undesirable side effects on the
natural environment,” Janke
explains. “Another problem with
herbicides is that they are not
effective on all weeds; some weeds
are actually becoming resistant to
certain types of herbicides.”
At present, many farmers
generally use herbicides on newly
established alfalfa fields. After the
first summer, however, the far
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mere tend to apply fewer her
bicides or to apply inadequate
amounts of fertilizer.
Janke’s method of attaining good
alfalfa yields by applying
potassium, rather than using
herbicides, keeps growth of the
quackgrass suppressed, not
eradicated. In fact, weeds such as
quackgrass are beneficial to the
soil, says Janke.
For one thing, weeds protect the
soil from erosion. Some species
penetrate and loosen the subsoil,
allowing the nutrients to get to the
plant roots easier. Weeds also
provide a home for some insects
that are beneficial to the alfalfa.
Janke’s work to date has been
mainly with quackgrass.
Preliminary findings from her
experiments indicate, however,
that increased alfalfa vigor
resulting from high levels of
potassium suppressed several
other kinds of weed pests, such as
dandelion, plantain, and yellow
rocket, as well as quackgrass.
Janke is running her experiment
for another year to confirm what
she has found out thus far, as well
as to see more precisely what
effect potassium has on other types
of weed pests, particularly dan
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