Alfalfas That Do and Don't Winterkill 



Why Variegated Alfalfas are Hardy 



makes variegated alfalfa hardier than common alfalfa? 

 Is it the widely spreading crown or the more widely branched 

 roots? Or is hardiness, just an inherited characteristic coming 

 from the rugged paternal yellow-flowered variety? 



Probably all three have something to do with it. Variegated 

 alfalfa has both branched and straight tap rooted plants. But the 

 percentage of branched-rooted plants is considerably higher than in 

 the common alfalfa. This may make it more resistant to the heav- 

 ing effect of freezing and thawing weather. 



The crown of the variegated alfalfa is large, decidedly low-set, 

 widely branched and spreading. It may be partly or completely 

 submerged in the soil. Common alfalfa, on the other hand, has a 

 smaller, erect crown, generally high-set above the ground, and more 

 exposed to the injury of alternate freezing and thawing. 



Fall Dormancy 



A most interesting characteristic of variegated alfalfa is that it 

 prepares itself for the siege of winter. After the third cutting its 

 development is rather sluggish. It may grow six or eight inches by 

 the middle of October, when common alfalfa will be a foot or more 

 in height. It then begins to turn brown, becomes dormant and 

 stops growing, regardless of abundant rains and mild fall weather. 

 It goes to bed early. 



Alfalfa that Hibernates 



It hardens itself for the severity of the oncoming cold. It is like 

 a burrowing animal. It begins to hibernate early in the fall, and 

 gets itself in that protective dormant condition in which it can stand 

 freezing without being frozen to death. 



The common alfalfa keeps right on producing a succulent growth 

 until a sudden freeze puts an abrupt end to its fall activity. This 

 sudden change, I believe, is one of the reasons for the greater sen- 

 sitiveness of common alfalfa to winter injury. (See Fig. 38.) 



An Early-to-bed and Early-to-rise Alfalfa 



The variegated strains are the early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise al- 

 falfas. They are the first to slumber in the fall and the first to 

 hearken to the awakening call of spring's gentle breezes. I have 

 seen many instances where the variegated has made from four to 

 six inches of growth in the early spring while adjacent plots of the 

 common were just getting well started. (See Figs. 48 and 51.) 



I do not wish to give the impression that variegated alfalfas are 

 better yielders than the common strains, for that is only partly true. 

 Common alfalfa is a most excellent producer, provided it has not 



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