SIXTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VIII. 791 



SUBSEQUENT TREATMENT OF ALFALFA FIELD. 



Although in most parts of the country alfalfa does not reach its max- 

 imum development until the third or fourth season, yet the treatment 

 after the first season is similar from year to year. Alfalfa is primarily 

 a hay crop, although it is used in some locolities and under certain con- 

 ditions for soiling, for silage, for a cover crop in orchards, and for pas- 

 turage. 



If a good stand is obtained from the original sowing no further treat- 

 ment should be necessary after the first season except to cut the hay at 

 the proper time. If from any cause the alfalfa should die out in spots, 

 or if the original stand was not uniform, or the fiield should require 

 rejuvenating after a few years because of the compact sod, the best 

 remedy for any of these diflftculties is a thorough disking in the spring; 

 the disks being set so as to split the crowns vertically. Seed may be 

 sown in the bare spots either before disking or after; if sown after, the 

 field should be harrowed. If a field is in bad condition, it is usually best 

 to plow up and re-seed. Many growers recommend disking every spring, 

 even when the stand is good, and some have found it a paying practice 

 to disk after each cutting. Such disking will often prevent the encroach- 

 ment of weeks. 



ALFALFA FOR HAY. 



Alfalfa should be cut just as it is beginning to bloom. After the 

 beginning of the flowering period the hay deteriorates rapidly in 

 nutritive value. If the field is fairly uniform, the proper stage for cut- 

 ting is when about one-tenth of the plants have reached the flowering 

 period. The number of cuttings varies in the North from two to three. 

 The yield is from 1 to 2 tons per cutting, the first cutting 

 being usually the largest, but the yield per cutting, especially for cut- 

 ings after the first, is usually less when there are several cuttings. In 

 the alfalfa regions of the country the aggregate yield of hay is, under 

 favorable conditions, usually from 5 to 8 tons per acre. It is customary in 

 many localities to pasture the fields more or less after the last cutting. 



CURING. 



In regions where alfalfa is irrigated there is usually no difliculty in 

 curing the hay; but in regions where rain may occur during the haying 

 season, great care is necessary to produce well-cured hay of good color. 

 Rains or even heavy dews spoil the color, changing it from the bright 

 green demanded by the market to a yellow or brown. Discolored hay 

 may not be less nitritious for feed but is less valuable upon the market. 



