Crop Watch, June 29, 2007: When Alfalfa Doesn't Recover Quickly<p>

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources

June 29, 2007

When Alfalfa Doesn't Recover Quickly

It’s early July and you've cut alfalfa. It has good soil moisture, but it’s not growing very fast and looks a little weak. What’s wrong, yourask.

It’s a common problem this year and there could be many contributing factors.

Is soil pH low so alfalfa roots don’t form many nodules to supply nitrogen?
Do you have enough phosphorus?
Was your alfalfa stressed this spring by leaf diseases?
Are you facing problems with potato leafhoppers right now?

All these could be contributing to slow alfalfa growth, as well as another very important factor – how often you harvest your alfalfa.

The hard freeze in early April killed off most of the top growth that already had accumulated, essentially acting like a first harvest. As far as your alfalfa is concerned, you’ve taken one extra harvest already this year.

To get you alfalfa back on track, give it a couple extra weeks of growth between harvests this summer. The extra recovery time will rebuild alfalfa growing ability.

Bruce Anderson
Extension Forage Specialist

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© 2007 by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. All rights reserved.

Published by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperating with the counties and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran's status, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.




© 2007 by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. All rights reserved.

Published by University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperating with the counties and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran's status, national or ethnic origin, or sexual orientation.