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March 17, 2006
Alfalfa usually comes through the winter in pretty good condition in Nebraska, so I rarely worry much about it. Last fall, however, some fields entered dormancy in a weakened condition due to the dry summer. With little protective snow cover this winter, exposed plants may have been injury due to cold temperatures or dry winter winds drying out plants.
Evaluate your stands early this spring. Older, dryland fields with fewer than 30 new shoots per square foot coming from two or three plants may need to be rotated soon to a different crop, and new fields planted to alfalfa. Very productive sites, such as irrigated and sub-irrigated fields, should have at least 40 shoots per square foot from four to six plants. Anything less is a strong candidate for rotation. We tend to lose about one tenth of a ton in yield potential for every shoot below these thresholds.
Check for these densities in several areas of your fields when the early shoots are 4 to 6 inches tall. Since some shoots begin growing later than others, stands with enough plants but slightly low shoot density may still produce well, especially if shoot height and distribution is fairly uniform. Low plant density or nonuniform shoot growth likely will result in reduced yields.
Bruce Anderson
Extension Forage Specialist
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