Alfalfa in Kansas. 55 



Morris county: "Sow very early and cut often to keep the old alfalfa 

 from smothering the young plants." 



Mitchell county: "Yes. Sometimes a failure. Sow with plenty of 

 moisture before the rest of stand is too old." 



Geary county: "Yes. If sown in fall reseed early the following 

 spring, and if sown in spring reseejl in the following fall, but never 

 later." 



Wichita, county: "Very little, except with a young stand. After one 

 year old I would plow it up." 



Harvey county: "Our alfalfa improves itself when we raise a seed 

 crop." 



Republic county: "Let the second crop go to seed and pasture it off 

 with horses. Harrow good in the fall." 



WEEDS IN YOUNG ALFALFA. 



Weeds in young alfalfa are sometimes a very serious pest, and the 

 best remedy, as reported, is prevention. Preceding crops should be well 

 cultivated, and kept as free from weeds as possible. The seed bed should 

 be reasonably clean at time of sowing, and the alfalfa seed should be 

 free from weed seed. The system of fallowing alfalfa land and destroy- 

 ing the sprouted weeds as often as they appear, with the harrow, is 

 good. Where weeds usually give great trouble with spring-sown alfalfa, 

 fall seeding is an excellent means of avoidance. 



When weeds are very thick and troublesome young alfalfa plants are 

 sometimes smothered out; the weeds simply take the field. The only 

 thing to do in instances like this is to plow the field, cleanse it of weeds, 

 and resow with pure seed. There are few fields that do not have some 

 weeds during the first growing season, however, and certain practices 

 have proved beneficial. The most common practice is that of clipping 

 with the mower. There is danger in clipping young alfalfa too closely, 

 and the cutter bar should be set to cut, as one reporter expresses it, "as 

 much of the weeds and as little of the alfalfa as possible." Several re- 

 . porters say that they wait until the alfalfa is in bloom before clipping; 

 others watch the weeds, and endeavor to cut close to the time of their 

 seeding, though before there is danger of the alfalfa going to seed. 

 Still others advocate clipping "high, and as many times as necessary; 

 often three or four times." Unless the volume is so great as to smother 

 the alfalfa plants, the clippings of weeds are usually left lying where 

 they fall. There are growers who, under these circumstances, fight weeds 

 "by disking or using the spike-tooth harrow, the spring-tooth harrow, the 

 alfalfa .renovator or the alfalfa cultivator, but many consider such 

 methods too strenuous for young alfalfa in its first growing season. 

 Following are some of the replies received in regard to this question : 



Greenwood county: "Mowing when the alfalfa begins to bloom will 

 destroy weeds in a young field. Mowing earlier than that will kill the 

 young plants." 



Geary county: "Use a good mowing machine. Don't cut the first time 

 till you see a few blossoms, and let the first two cuttings lie on the 

 ground, no matter how heavy the weed crop is." 



Chautauqua county : "I don't favor too much mowing in the first year." 



