Page 14—Foraging Around, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 18, 1998
(Continued from Pago 12)
•More soil moisture saypd
•More timely seeding
To make this program all come
together and be successful and grow
profitable great stand of alfalfa, a
grower should/must: 1. Plan head
select the field to be seeded at least
a year before seeding. 2. Seed on
well drained soil. 3. Seed in spring
after winter soil-frost melt or in late
summer at least six weeks prior to
historic first-killing-frost date. 4.
Test soil and apply needed lime and
fertilizer; (lime a year ahead of seed
ing). Do not use nitrogen in no-till!
5. Control plant competition before
and after seeding. 6. Seed at 15 to
20 pounds per acre at 174 to 1/2 inch
depth; (perhaps up to 3/4-inch depth
on sandy soils). 7. Scout often and
control insects.
What about alfalfa seedling
vigor? Alfalfa, once established, is a
tough and persistent legume. But
young seedlings can be very vulner
able. Competition with grass,
broadleaf weeds, and grassy weeds,
as well as resident legumes may
cause many new seedings to become
crowded or smothered during early
establishment. Control of existing
plants prior to seeding is a must.
Short-residual herbicides offer very
effective broad-spectrum weed con
trol before and after establishment.
Where no-till works best is in
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older perennial cool season grass
sods, following row crops and
residues from small grain crops -
never into an old, thinning alfalfa
stand.
Techniques for seeding into
perennial cool season grass sods:
Spring Seeding:
Reduce the competition from
existing plants with appropriate
herbicides. Decide prior to seeding
whether to eliminate all or a portion
of the sod and modify applications
accordingly. Since errors in seed
placement are a primary cause of
alfalfa stand failure, use only no-till
drills designed for seeding into sod
and adjust them to your soil and
moisture conditions.
To eliminate as much of the sod
as possible, mow or graze the field in
early autumn and while it is still
green, apply 1 quart of Gramoxone,
or 1-2 quarts of Roundup per acre in
20+ gallons of water. In early
spring, a follow-up application of 1
pint of Gramoxone may be used to
control weeds and surviving old pas
ture growth. No-till seed in early
spring. (Note, when using Gram
oxone, always include the recom-
mended rate of surfactant for best
control).
To maintain a portion of the sod,
graze or mow closely in early
autumn and apply 1 quart of
Gramoxone or 1 to 2 quarts of
Roundup per acre. A follow-up
spring application of 1 pint of
Gramoxone is necessary only if win
ter weeds are a threat.
In areas where perennial
broadleaf weeds such as dock, horse
nettle, thistles, or other persistent
weeds are present, apply 2,4-D and
Banvel at locally recommended
rates and dates.
Late summer seeding (a new
technique developed in Virginia) has
proven to be very successful. (The
summer smother-crop, used in
Virginia, may need to be amended to
fit Pennsylvania conditions). This is
the way it is done: Graze or mow the
existing cover by late spring. Apply
1 quart of Gramoxone or 2 quarts of
Roundup in 20+ gallons of water,
per acre. No-till seed 20 to 25
pounds per acre of foxtail (German)
millet per acre. Harvest the millet
for hay or silage in 7 to 8 weeks (at
early head stage). If weeds or other
plants survive the spring herbicide
and summer smother-crop, apply
one pint of Gramoxone per acre for
fall cleanup. Seed alfalfa no-till at
15 to 20 pounds per acre at least six
weeks ahead of historic freeze date.
(Note: whatever summer smother
crop is used, be sure to pick one that
is terminal at harvest with no
regrowth to compete wit new alfalfa
seedlings).
No-till seedings follow row crops
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Following corn, (harvested as
grain or silage), seed an adapted
winter small grain for ground cover.
If triazine herbicides (atrazine/
simazine) were used in crop produc
tion, their residual effects can injure
legumes planted the following
spring so stick to labeled recommen
dations for best results. If triazines
were used, disking to dilute the con
centration of the residue will surely
help. The following spring, apply 1 -
2 pints of Gramoxone in 20+ gallons
of water per acre on the small grain
when it is 4-6 inches tall. No-till
seed 15 to 20 pounds of alfalfa
immediately. Should small grain
regrowth occur (5-6 inches), mow
just above the alfalfa or graze to
help prevent early smothering.
Alfalfa also may be seeded with
out tillage into standing small grain
(8-10 inches tall) prior to harvest as
silage. Rye harvested as silage in
the boot stage will usually produce
regrowth and must be mowed or
chemically controlled with Poast at
4-6 inches of growth. Winter barley,
(where adapted) and winter wheat,
when cut in the dough stage helps
reduce regrowth potential. In some
cases however, some help may be
needed from Poast.
When small grain silage is made
before the boot stage, wait 5-10 days
for regrowth and apply 1 pint of
Gramoxone in 20+ gallons of water
per acre prior to seeding alfalfa.
P.O. Box 490, Little York, NY 13087