# Thickening thining stands of alfalfa



## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Every year I get calls on what to do with some fields with poor stands either from winter kill or just getting old and thining out.

If they just want to get 1 more yr out of it we generaly will go with 10-15 lbs of annual ryegrass and interseed with a drill as early as possible.It grows fast and will fill in any thin spots.Some other options could be Berseem clover or Teff grass.

If they want to keep it for a few more yrs we usually go with a mix of Annual rygrass and Orchardgrass mixed 50-50.Interseed at 10-15 lbs and any really thin spots double back and drill it twice to get 20-30 lbs acre on.

Last yr we did some with a Annual Ryegrass/Orchardgrass/Meadow Brome mix.Time will tell how that turns out this yr.The meadow brome is supposed to come more in the heat of the yr compared to the old smooth bromes.I'm hoping it will yield well in the mid summer when the Orchard slows up.

Well hopefully we don't have any winterkill like last yr.We had snow cover all winter and it should be fine .Up HERE.


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## prairie (Jun 20, 2008)

swmnhay said:


> Some other options could be Berseem clover or Teff grass.


In most enviroments, both would need to be seeded after 1st cutting is off, as they require warmer soil and air temperatures. 



swmnhay said:


> The meadow brome is supposed to come more in the heat of the yr compared to the old smooth bromes.I'm hoping it will yield well in the mid summer when the Orchard slows up.


Over the last 12 years I've sold a lot of meadow brome seed of several varieties, and planted it for hay and pasture on our own farm. It's summer growth is not as good as orchardgrass in most situations. On a scale of 1-10 for summer growth, with smooth brome being a 1 and orchardgrass being a 10, meadow brome rates about a 6-8. Compared to orchardgrass It tends to have a wider range of pH adaptability , be much more winter hardy, and is more tolerant of traffic, wet feet, and late season harvest. One disadvantage is that it is usually earlier maturing than smooth brome. We sell a lot in both dryland and irrigated pasture mixes, horse pasture mixes, and some hay mixes. Its seed size is fairly large, and it takes about 6+ lbs of meadow brome to equal 1 lb of orchardgrass on a seed count basis.


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

Still it is something to consider. 
HERE contrary to the school solution we can seed alfalfa into a standing, thinning stand of alfalfa. 
One school solution in California is to plant a different clover into the alfalfa. 
Another solution would be to sow a spring wheat or oats into the stand, for hay or grain.


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## HL649 (Jul 23, 2009)

I have not tried it yet but I have been told by 2 different seed farms that they routinely overseed thin alfalfa fields with alflafa to thicken them up. They say that it takes until the following year before the new seed really takes hold. I was going to give it a try last year but didn't get around to it. Maybe this year.


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