4 BULLETIN 138, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



renders the Turkestan variety much inferior to the ordinary sort. It 



has therefore proven a failure in the Central States and the States of 



the Middle West." 



* Kennedy (8, p. 29) found that none of the Turkestan strains tested 



in southeastern Nevada were as valuable as the domestic strains of 



alfalfa. 



Brand and Waldron (1, p. 46), after reviewing the available experi- 

 ments where Turkestan alfalfa seed was tested for hardiness, say that 

 "it is apparent * * * that while none of the Turkestan strains 

 in their present condition are hardy enough for the cold Northwest, 

 several of them are promising for acclimatization by selective breed- 

 ing methods." 



Westgate (11, p. 37), referring to certain strains of alf alfa introduced 

 from Turkestan by the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 says that "Turkestan alfalfa was introduced into the United States 

 in 1898 and has since been tried in all parts of the country. It has 

 been found to be superior to the ordinary alfalfa in only limited 

 sections. It is decidedly inferior in the humid sections east of the 

 Mississippi River, but has given somewhat better results than the 

 ordinary alfalfa in the semiarid portions of the Great Plains and in 

 the Columbia Basin." 



The results of comparative tests in the United States of commercial 

 Turkestan with other strains of alfalfa have shown it to be decidedly 

 inferior in most sections and of only doubtful value in the localities 

 most favorable to it. 



COMMERCIAL TURKESTAN ALFALFA NOT ADAPTED TO GENER4L USE 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 



Commercial Turkestan alfalfa should not in any way be confused 

 with the special strains of hardy alfalfas developed from certain intro- 

 ductions of alfalfa seed from Turkestan made by the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. Some of these strains have proved hardy 

 in the upper Mississippi Valley and are evidence that valuable varie- 

 ties of alfalfas exist in Central Asia, but for the present none of these 

 can be said to have passed the stage of being of use in experimental 

 work in selection and breeding. 



Commercial Turkestan seed of promiscuous origin is not adapted 

 to general use in the United States. It is particularly unsuited to the 

 humid climate of the East. It is not sufficiently hardy to warrant 

 its general use in the upper Mississippi Valley, where hardiness is a 

 limiting factor in alfalfa production. It is slow to recover after cut- 

 ting, and gives inferior yields of hay, even when it does not suffer from 

 drought or winterkilling. It has a tendency to be short lived, making 

 it undesirable where alfalfa is wanted in long rotations, and it is also 

 a poor seed producer 



