SUGGESTIONS FOR OBTAINING A STAND OF 



ALFALFA 



Professor Johx L. Stone, Ithaca, X. Y. 

 Department of Farm Practice, Cornell University. 



One frequently meets the statement 

 made by alfalfa enthusiasts that " alfalfa 

 will grow anywhere if you manage it 

 right." If the statement implies growing 

 it cheaply enough and successfully enough 

 to be profitable, it certainly is not correct. 

 Alfalfa is one of the most exacting crops 

 regarding soil, and its culture cannot be 

 extended very far toward the north. Al- 

 falfa will stand quite severe winters^ if 

 growing in a soil that is thoroughly well 

 drained and where it is protected by a good covering of snow 

 throughout the severe weather. Lacking these conditions, it is 

 quite sensitive to severe cold. 



SOIL 



The character of the soil is the most important factor in alfalfa 

 growing. A good alfilfa soil must be permeable; it must be 

 fertile; it must be alkaline. 



The soil must be permeable so that adequate drainage may 

 be secured. Alfalfa will not grow in a water-saturated soil, and 

 undrained soils heave so badly in winter as to destroy the plants. 

 A certain degree of permeability also is necessary, in order that 

 the roots may penetrate the soil readily. Normal alfalfa has 

 taproots that penetrate the soil deeply. Diffuse-rooted and more 

 shallow-growing varieties are being developed, which seem to 

 endure shallow soils and severe winters better than the ordinary 

 variety. Alfalfa roots will penetrate quite heavy clay loam soils, 

 but the stand is likely to be rather short-lived in such soils. The 

 roots will not penetrate hard-pan soils, and the faulty drainage 

 of hardpan soils almost always leads to the loss of the plants by 



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