# Leaf hopper resistant alfalfa: does it work?



## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I have the chance to rent roughly another 24 acres to plant hay on and it just so happens to be directly across the road from 25 I already have.

Thing is the new owners would like to see a absolute minimal of pesticides used. About every third year or so I have to spray for leaf hoppers. The last two springs weevil haven't been a problem, but the two years before that, everybody had to spray for weevils.

Does the leaf hopper resistant alfalfa really work? Does it have any resistance to weevil? Whats a good brand and how much more does it cost compared to non-resistant? Is the life of the stand the same as non-resistant? Basically what are the pros and cons of the resistant variety's?

The other thing I've thought of was using Neem oil instead of a chemical pesticide for the hoppers but not sure how it works on weevils.


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## hayray (Feb 23, 2009)

This will be good to read the post. I planted traditional this spring and wish I had used the leaf hopper resistant varietys because a lot of guys are telling me it works real well. I spent a ton of money so far this year on spraying Warrior. I know on a couple of new seedings that if I had not sprayed the leafhoppers would have knocked back the whole seeding and almost prevented a first cut.


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## nwfarmer (Jun 16, 2009)

Lets see, you pay the bills and do the hard work and they want to tell you how to farm. Hmmmm. We had a farmer up here that rented some acreage and they told him it was OK to raise barley but he couldn't sell it to Budweiser because they were non drinkers. Amazing.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Yah NW, problem around here is the competition for ground went from crazy to down right brutal, if I don't agree to their terms, someone else will in a heart beat. I can see their point though, city folk who moved out into the country and don't know any more than what they read in the papers, see in the news and in Walt Disney films, they also have 4 little ones running around. Personally I like to keep the use of pesticides and herbicides to a bare minimum anyways, granted it isn't always possible, but if a hopper resistant variety will help with that goal, then maybe it ain''t all bad being told how to farm _their_ ground.


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## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

I hope that it works! This spring I planted about 50ac of it that I payed about 2X higher than the cheap brand that I have been buying so that I don't have to spray. I've seen from some of the studies that some of the LHR varieties don't yield as well as the non-LHR. When I was researching the brands and traits, the LHR was anywhere from 2 - 4X the cost of my non.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Yah, the cost is a considerable factor. I'm gonna inform our local Garst dealer of what I'm planning and hopefully he'll inform me of the time to get the best deal. Might possibly talk to the land owners some more and see if they would share the cost of the seed if it meant no chemicals cause the bugs won't get out of hand with the resistant variety.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Leafhopper varieties are not 100% resistant,especially in the seeding yr.Probably closer to 65-75% resistant.They still may have to be sprayed if the leafhoppers are bad.Or should be sprayed for optimum yield.It would be the best option if you could not spray tho.

2-4 times the price sounds like a ripoff just got off phone with my DSM and our leafhopper variety is .40 lb higher than what I normally plant.


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

Wow, I had no idea that the LHR varieties were that much more expensive. I planted some right after they came out, and it's ok. If you got a scale, the yield probably would not be there, although it looks fine to me. I know that some years we did not spray it, and we did have some yellow leaves. We apply a foliar fertilizer anyway (on 2nd and 3rd cut), so the warrior goes in the tank and everything gets sprayed anyway. In your case I would spend the money for it. I am not aware that they have any resistance for weevils.

Rodney


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> 2-4 times the price sounds like a ripoff just got off phone with my DSM and our leafhopper variety is .40 lb higher than what I normally plant.


That's not horrible though and I could live with .40 cents a pound more, a extra 20 bucks a bag multiplied by 10 bags is only 200 bucks more divided by the life of the stand.

We've almost always get at least ten years out of a stand. If it gets to weak we'll spread a pasture mix in it as well as some clover and use it for cow hay a couple of years, then burn it down in the fall and no-till it to corn in the spring.


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## hunt2r (Dec 4, 2008)

The .40 a lb. sounds about right to me. I planted WL newest variety last fall and I am happier with it than the earlier LH resistant alfalfa's. I think the new variety is supposed to be 80-90% resistant and it takes a year for the full protection. I really do not see much of a yield difference. You will still have to spray for weevil if the infestation is bad enough.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

I have some America’s Alfalfa brand and have had no trouble with it. Planted 33 acres of the 407 last fall no problems with it this spring. Though the cost of it was 210 for 50 lbs.I'm in east central Indiana. The 33 acres made 110 5x5 round bales on it's first cutting.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

210 isn't bad at all, I paid 180 for non resistant this spring.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

Got it from a distributor at Indy that was the delivered price. The second cutting is ready but the weather is not, looks bad all week. I do a good bit of custom work so running kinda late on mine .


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## nwfarmer (Jun 16, 2009)

I can understand the resistant alfalfa. In the midwest and east what do you do around the edges of your fields? We have to spray in the west for noxious weeds. In fact I sent off the postcard to the weed inspector the other day now that my hay is stacked. They inspect our fields for noxious weeds before we can remove any product from the property. Once we get a release, good until June of next year, we give a copy to all hay buyers. If you are hauling hay without a release out here the seller and buyer can be fined. Just another government program.


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## UpNorth (Jun 15, 2009)

There is definently the potential to need to spray in the seeding year with the leaf hopper resistant varieties. The resistance and partial resistance comes the glandular hairs, basically microscopic spines on the stems. These hairs are not as developed in early vegatative stages of alfalfa so less resistance occurs early on. Even with the resistance available the best bet is to scout and spray if thresholds are reached, not sure if the landowners would feel better if they knew you only sprayed once the thresholds were reached. Good luck with the landowners, that's never an easy spot to be in. All that garbage out there only makes our toolboxes smaller---and eventually their food more expensive.


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