BULLETIN OF THE 
C 
No. 138 
Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. 
September 19, 1914. 
COMMERCIAL TURKESTAN ALFALFA SEED. 
By Edgar Brown, 
Botanist in Charge of Seed Laboratory. 
INTRODUCTION. 
The United States does not produce enough alfalfa seed to supply 
the domestic demand for seeding purposes. The United States cen- 
sus report gives the production for the year 1909 as 15,799,680 
pounds. During the year previous to July 1, 1910, 2,891,685 pounds, 
or a little more than one-sixth of the domestic crop, was imported. 
In 1913 the importation had increased to 6,000,000 pounds and the 
domestic production was approximately twice what it was in 1909. 
As imported seed is usually sold in this country on the basis of appear- 
ance without reference to the place of origin, Turkestan seed, which 
is the lowest priced alfalfa seed in the European markets, is the type 
now chiefly imported. 
SOURCE OF SURPLUS ALFALFA SEED. 
France, Italy, and Russian Turkestan each normally produce an 
excess of alfalfa seed over that required for domestic use and together 
furnish most of the seed entering into international trade. The 
French seed comes from Provence, in the lower Rhone Valley, and 
from Poitou, in west-central France. The provinces of Bologna and 
Modena, on the south side of the Po Valley, furnish most of the Italian 
seed. Commercial Turkestan seed comes from the southern part of 
Asiatic Russia, south and east of the Sea of Aral, including the prov- 
inces of Khiva, Bokhara, and Samarkand. The altitude of this 
region varies from nearly sea level in northern Khiva to 2,500 feet at 
Samarkand. The summers are hot, with an average maximum 
temperature for July of approximately 100° F., while the winters 
are cold, with an average minimum temperature for January of 
approximately zero. The rainfall is light and all the alfalfa culture 
is under irrigation. Generally speaking, the summer temperature 
approximates that of southwestern Arizona and southeastern Cali- 
Note. — This bulletin is intended to warn American alfalfa growers to avoid the use of commercial 
Turkestan seed, which, though inferior to domestic-grown seed, is retailed at a higher price, making greater 
profits for the dealers. The bulletin tells how this cheapest of all alfalfa seeds in the European market 
can be identified. 
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