# Cheatgrass Control in Alfalfa



## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

I've got cheatgrass in my new stand of alfalfa. The cheat grass has come in where the ground is lighter and the alfalfa stand started thin. Anyway the cheatgrass has just started to head out. Any good ideas on how to get rid of it in my alfalfa before the seed becomes viable?


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Well you may be a month late to catch any of those winter brome grasses. 
Caught before going to seed one of the Post Plus grass herbicides or Select grass herbicides would have done you some good.
There are a few pre emerge herbicides that are labeled for seedling alfalfa, but you are too late for that.
If you had seeded a Round Up Resistant variety you would have nipped the problem in the bud. 
Now you have some insight on why the popularity of the RR varieties.

If you are quick you might be able to clear up the field by mob grazing with sheep?

Just remember where the grass is and be sure to use a pre emerge herbicide this October.

I expect if you contact your county agent he can put you on to your state's approved list of herbicides for alfalfa.

Bale the grass alfalfa mixed separately and sell it to those who are in love with a brome alfalfa mix hay.

For the next time you plan to seed a new field into alfalfa and if there is some lighter soil. put an extra pass of potash out on the lighter soil. Playing the catch up top dress game, double up on the potash on the lighter soil. 
Going into your second cutting, & initial bloom, pull both soil and tissue samples based on the soil types. That might take some of the guess work out.


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## hayray (Feb 23, 2009)

I assume you don't want to use much herbicides based on what we know of your operation but as the previous post pointed out that you are too late and there are some grass control herbicides such as Poast, assure, arrow, select that work on grasses but control has to be done on early growth, mostly 2-4 inch range and does not do well on established tillered or rhozomed grasses. Having better luck now with establishing more perennial grasses like orchard grass in the stand to control some of these un-wanted grasses, not brome in my case but bluegrasses and junegrasses are causing a lot of havic with me and I just have not had great luck spraying and making it economical. Cornell University has some research that showed using orchardgrass was a better option to control roughstalk bluegrass then spraying Select which greatly reduced yield. If want a pure stand of alfalfa and maintane it then you might need alot of chemicals and spend alot of money.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

As hayray says your options this late are limited.

At this time Mob grazing is your only nonchemical option and your chemical options are limited.

If you really want clean alfalfa fallow the ground two years and use a field cultivator every time some grass makes an appearance.

Here I fallow but not so much for weed control, though it helps, but to accumulate deep moisture.
During the fallow period I apply all the phosphate and most of the potash expected to be required for the duration of the next stand. 
Figure 20 tons of hay @ 40 lbs of potassium = 800 lbs of potassium. 
How you get there is up to you. But 500 lbs/A murate of potash and 1,500 lbs of K-Mag will be close. I like 500 lbs & 500 lbs plus top dressing going into our summer drought with 200 lbs murate of potash and another 200 lbs of k-Mag. 
Dry land & summer drought is a reason consider a health amount of potash for water use efficiency.

Yield goal is 30 tons of hay for the life of a 5 - 6 year stand.


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## anokes (Jul 30, 2008)

put the hay up for silage and you will get all the seed out of the field. at this point it is your best and fastest option. good luck.


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## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

I contacted our local extension guy and he as identified the grass as foxtail barley. Still a pain in the neck and as others have said, not a lot that can be done at this point. He recommended just baling it out although anokes silage sounds like a good idea too.


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