ALFALFA 175 



obtained each season in the absence of water. But 

 the number of cuttings will be reduced when one of 

 these is a seed crop. When a seed crop is taken, the 

 vitality of the plants is apparently so much reduced 

 for the season that the subsequent growth is much 

 less vigorous than if seed had not been thus taken. 



The yield of hay from each cutting will, of course, 

 vary much with conditions, but it is seldom less 

 than a ton. An approximate average would place 

 the average cutting at about i% tons, but as much 

 as 2 tons have been obtained per acre at a cutting, 

 and, again, not more than ^2 ton. In New Jersey 

 an average of 4.57 tons per acre was obtained under 

 good conditions of management, but without irriga- 

 tion, at the experiment station for three years in 

 succession. In Kansas, 4 to 6 tons per acre may usu- 

 ally be expected from good soils. In Tulare County, 

 California, as much as 6 to 10 tons have been secured 

 under irrigation. 



The yields from the various cuttings are by no 

 means uniform, especially in the absence of irriga- 

 tion. They are much influenced by rainfall. In 

 such areas, the second cutting is usually the best for 

 the season, the subsequent cuttings being consider- 

 ably less. Where irrigation is practiced, the crops 

 are much more uniform, but even in mild climates, 

 as the season advances, there is a tendency to lesser 

 yields, indicative of the necessity of at least partial 

 rest for plants during a portion of the year. The 

 yields of alfalfa are usually exceeded by those of 

 no other crop, where the conditions are quite favor- 

 able to its growth, even in the absence of irrigation. 



