Page 6—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 1, 1997
Dr. Marvin Hall
Penn State
Forage Extension Specialist
It is that time of year again when
alfalfa seed is generally purchased for
seeding next spring. However, the
choice of which variety “is best” for a
particular farm is not that easy!
In the past 10 years, more than 150
alfalfa varieties or experimental lines
have been evaluated by Penn State
University in research trials at three
locations in Pennsylvania. A large
number of varieties for which adequate
data are available have performed
satisfactorily in these research trials.
The results of these variety evalua
tion trials appear in the Forage Trials
Report. The 1998 edition of this annual
publication will be available at county
offies of Penn State Cooperative
Extension before Jan. 1.
With all of these varieties available,
how can the “best” variety by
selected? First of all, there is no “best”
variety for all situations. In fact, there
probably is not one “best” variety for a
single Pennsylvania farm because of
the extreme variability in soils across
the state.
The key to selecting varieties is to
identify the two or three varieties that
are best suited for a particular situa
tion. The following steps may help
identify those suitable varieties.
1. Select varieties that have adequ
ate resistance to the diseases prevalent
in your area, on your farm, on in the
exact field where the alfalfa will be
planted.
2. From these varieties, select those
that have persisted well in environ
ments or situations similar to the farm
where they will be planted. This infor
mation is given in the Penn State For
age Trails Report.
3 From the list of varieties that you
have identified as acccntable, select
Irish Scientist
to Speak
(Continued from Page 1)
4-5
Mayne’s grazing research with
dairy cattle and beef is some of the
strongest in the world. Sinclair May
ne’s research has emphasized impro
ving grazing management to increase
intake and utilization of pasture. In
addition, he has been involved in a
long-term study to evaluate the opti
mum genetic merit of different cow
breeds for grazing management
systems.
Sinclair has been an invited speaker
at many producer and scientific meet
ings throughout the world. He most
recently was an invited speaker at the
International Grassland Congress in
Canada. His many travels and his
experiences in grazing provides him
with a broad understanding of grazing
systems.
In addition to the educational prog
ram, there will be a trade show and
company representatives available to
showcase the latest in grazing technol
ogy. If it is New Zealand-style milk
ing facilities, fence insulators, or the
newest plant species for pasture that
you are interested in, you can leam all
about it at the trade show.
For more information, contact the
Grazing Research and Education Cen
ter at (814) 863-2543.
Tips On How To Select An Alfalfa Variety
the highest yielding varieties. This can
be done by selecting the highest yield
ing variety at one location over several
years or by selecting the varieties that
were among the highest yielding at all
locations for several years. The first
method will provide a small list of
varieties that yield well under a nar
rower range of conditions, while the
second method provides a limited list
of varieties that yield well under a
wider range of conditions.
4. From the list, select 2 or 3 variet
ies to plant and “test” in the fie4ld.
The varieties selected in this man
ner, when properly fertilized and man
aged, will be the highest yielding
available and normally persist for
three or more years. By planting a
couple varieties, you are testing the
“best” varieties to see which is truly
best on your farm or in a particular
field. This information should help
when selecting an alfalfa variety in the
future. Avoid use of nonadapted com
mon seedlots when growing alfalfa as
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a perennial forage crop
Pennsylvania.
A limited number of alfalfa variet
ies have the potential or producing
secondary roots and have a spreading
growth habit. These varieties are
referred to as “creeping” alfalfas.
However, in a humid climate such as
Pennsylvania, these varieties have
shown growth habits simiar to our
more typical bunch-type alfalfas and
investing
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have shown no yield advantage.
Multileaf varieties, those varieties
developed to have more than three
leaflets per leaf, have recently been
marketed throughout Pennsylvania.
Unfortunately, thse varieties have not
consistently shown improved quality
or yield over traditional varieties.
Once again, select varieties based on
disease resistance, winter hardiness,
and yield, not because they are
multileafs.
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