# Alfalfa varieties



## Hayking (Jan 17, 2010)

I was just curious what variety or company that you planted. which one you think works the best? We plant WL and it does really well in our area i am thinking about planting a dekalb variety this fall.


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

Choosing the next alfalfa variety is always a series of compromises.

There is *NO ONE *best variety.

First off we need to know which pest and disease that is/are the primary problem for out individual soil, climate, and management style.
Then we can look at the list of alfalfa varieties http://alfalfa.org/pdf/2010varietyleaflet.pdf for the one you think will best meet your needs. 
For a number of years Oklahoma has a large advantage with John Caddel at OK State. He had a great alfalfa program going. Oklahoma Alfalfa
He had a large number of variety plots to compare varieties. With the few plots that are still running *OK 49 *usually leads the pack. Oklahoma Alfalfa Variety Testing 
What this tells me is Oklahoma has little or no problem insect or disease problems that are countered by resistance. 
Possibly every 20 or 30 years the potato leaf hopper is a problem. The alfalfa weevil does not have a variety that can be countered by plant resistance. 
Possibly you should look at *OK 49 or OK 69*. There is a good possibility that a brown bag Oklahoma common, Kansas common, or Nebraska common will also fit your situation just as well as any commercially developed alfalfa. 
I have used public varieties, plus seed from many major and minor seed companies. 
A WL variety, WL 442, has been my best yielding variety. Unfortunately it does not have the resistance to wet foot root rot ( PRR ) that is a problem here, and stand persistence was a problem. Currently AmeriStand 802 is my variety of choice. I fully expect to plant a different variety the fall of 2011. 
At this time there are maybe four varieties that out shine AmeriStand 802, *on paper*.


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## Hayking (Jan 17, 2010)

Thanks hay wilson! we planted a wl 348 last fall on some wetter ground and i believe that it it is doing really well on the wetter ground there is not very much dround out from the water we a had wl 327 in that same field a couple years ago and we had a wet summer and it just wiped it almost compleatly out. As far as the common varieties do they have as a good of a protein tests as the others.


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

Thankyou for that bit of information. 
Your observation on WL 348 is interesting. I was toying with the idea of planting Archer III, September 2011, but now am more inclined to consider AmeriStand 407 TQ or your WL 348, for the enhanced PRR resistance. 
By then I hope we will be home free with Round Up Resistant Alfalfa. I want to plant a 15 foot strip of it next to my neighbors, so they will feel free to spray with one tip on my side of the line.

As for common having higher or lower protein levels when cut at a standard growth stage is not included in my small knowledge base.

With the hay analysis we are willing to pay for we are lucky to have less than a 10% variability in results. We are not paying for a gold analysis, that is for sure. So if we have a true average 22% CP for a field on a cutting, the reported CP can be between 20% & 24% CP. To have the actual 22.06% CP we would have to send off an empty seed sack full of hay cores the lab would have to grind that whole sack full of cores and then mix the result for a long time. Then they would run a $100 chemical analysis on a shot glass full of the blended sample. This is supposing the Undocumented Worker who pulled the samples sampled came up with an unbiased and uniform selection of the bales to be sampled, and the probe went in exactly the same distance on each bale. Most labs can give tests result that do not exceed 10% between extremes. It is being charitable to say that the sampling will keep the results within 10% of the true value. That is a total of testing and sampling variability. That is to say 10 tons of hay is being represented by just a few ounces of plant material.

The plant breeders are talking about having a week's difference in cutting dates with no difference in net energy. I would think to accomplish this for protein they will have to breed into alfalfa the ability to stop growing & stop maturing for a given period at a given maturity stage. 
Even better for the livestock owning farmers, would be to have alfalfa produce a higher percentage of by pass protein. More protein that is digested in the intestine rather than in the rumen.


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## OKrookie (Jan 10, 2010)

Since I am just getting started, would it be wise to try a few different varieties planted side by side?


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

You could give it a try but easier is to look at the Oklaoma variety trials at 2009 Alfalfa Variety Test Results

I tried planting side by side but could not determine any significant differences. Did and do keep records of yields for different varities over the years. My highest yielding variety to date, for reasons I can only guess at it had poor persistence.

Something I learned from Oklahoma, is to put all the phosphate you think your stand will require for the life of the stand. You will realize more total yield that way, but the last year or two will be below average. John Caddel did not advise going the full route. He recomended putting out about half the full amount and then looking at the results over the years. 
Something I did learn is IF you put out that much phosphate include at least half the potash you will need for the life of the stand.

Later I learned that phosphate has a fairly steep bell curve yield for applied phosphate, and too much is just as yield depressing as too little. Probably the reason to include the potash.

You also might contact the Nobel Foundation for some information.


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

TODAY I received a communication from Sally with Americas Alfalfa. She tells me IF given fair warning they can work with a growers needs. They can even supply seed that qualifies for Organic.

My only heart burn is they insist on going through a dealer, of some kind. 
I am well away from any farm supply - seed dealers who move any alfalfa seed. 
There are a number so seed companies who will ship to my door via UPS. One who will ship to a local trucking terminal. WL's truck will drop off the seed on the way to the next dealer.

At one time I knew a number of people at Pioneer, WL, Americas Alfalfa, and Great Plains (now Cimerron). 
Because "NOW" AFGC is in the habit of meeting in June, I have been out of touch. Possibly out of touch for 10 years. It is a real shame.


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## OKrookie (Jan 10, 2010)

hay wilson in TX said:


> You could give it a try but easier is to look at the Oklaoma variety trials at 2009 Alfalfa Variety Test Results
> 
> I tried planting side by side but could not determine any significant differences. Did and do keep records of yields for different varities over the years. My highest yielding variety to date, for reasons I can only guess at it had poor persistence.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info hay wilson. The varieties test results show comparisons of yields, but do not address disease and pest resistance. From reading some of your earlier comments in this thread about OK alfalfa, it appears that diseases and pests may not be a big problem here. So, do I just pick the highest yielding variety and give it a try?


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

Off the top of my head, I might try OK 49, if you can find it.

My first step would be to contact Dr Twoin Butler at the Nobel Foundation. E-Mail: [email protected]

As a backup try 
Dr John Caddel Retired. OK Extension Forage Specilest at OK State. 
[email protected]

Phone
Home: 405-372-6974
Work: 405-338-0111
Cell: 405-338-0111

Please do *NOT* say where you get his address and phone numbers, he is definitely retired.


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## OKrookie (Jan 10, 2010)

Thanks a bunch for the contact info--my lips are sealed!! I will be planting in river bottom, so I am thinking that PRR will be my greatest risk.


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

Something I learned from DR Warren Thompson, now retired, is if we need PRR resistance to the HR level then pick a variety that also has a high level of Aph (Aphanomyces) resistance. 
In 2007, the year it rained and rained some more, I lost my alfalfa to outright drowning and/or PRR. Except for one variety that had Aph R resistance.

Go to http://alfalfa.org/pdf/2010varietyleaflet.pdf or National Alfalfa Alliance then under education go to Varieties Listing, then click on look at 2010.

For Oklahoma a FD 4, 5, or 6 will do just fine. In fact even down here in Texas I have planted a FD 3 and a FD 2 and they did well.

In theory a FD 8 would be ideal for the MidTex area, but for 2011 I am looking favorably on a FD 4 or a FD 5.

To look at the pest that may be a problem in your area check the following. 
Diseases 
AMERALFALFA_SP
Insects 
AMERALFALFA_SP

Other Links
America's Alfalfa

The Devil is in the Details!


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