16 



CONCLUSIONS 



1. Suppression of such vigorous grasses as quackgrass, brome grass, and 

 orchardgrass was vital to successful establishment of no-till alfalfa. 



2. Spring application of glyphosate consistently controlled existing vege- 

 tation, while fall application produced variable results. 



3. Other successful methods for suppressing vegetation included: (a) split 

 application of paraquat fall and spring or split application in the 

 spring; (b) fall application of pronamide followed at time of seeding 



by paraquat or a low rate of glyphosate; and (c) fall application of 

 glyphosate to green, healthy-looking vegetation. 



4. Increased seedling numbers and increased yield of alfalfa at first 

 harvest were achieved by killing vegetation two or more weeks in 

 advance of seeding, compared with treatment just before seeding, 

 especially on moderately well-drained and poorly-drained soils. 



5. The optimum rates of glyphosate were: (1) approximately 1.33 lbs/acre 

 in early May for delayed seeding; (2) 2.0 lbs/acre immediately before 

 seeding; and (3) 1.5 to 2.0 lbs/acre in the fall for early spring 

 seeding. 



6. Fall application of glyphosate at 1.0 to 1.5 lbs/acre resulted in a 

 well decomposed sod at time of spring seeding. Following this ap- 

 plication with a treatment of 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/acre glyphosate just 

 prior to seeding in mid- late May (when shoots of surviving grass 

 plants were emerged) improved stands of alfalfa. 



