# mechanically killing alfalfa



## evan (Jan 22, 2012)

Good evening all,
I know i have been asking a lot of questions lately and i just wanted to say thank you for everyones input, this is a great resource for someone who is just starting out.
I need a method to be able to kill my alfalfa off organically so that i can put it into vegetables (i co-manage a large organic vege farm). Traditionally i have used an offset disk and chisle plow working the ground multiple times. I do not want to use a moleboard because of burying all of the soil bio activity. Does anyone have any other methods that they feel work well? I just want to make sure that there isnt a tool out there that i am over looking. With the cost of diesel these days the fewer passes i can make over the field the better.
Thanks
evan


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## downtownjr (Apr 8, 2008)

My first thought is a moldboard plow, but since you would like to avoid that, I gave it some thought. Seems to me you need separate the crowns from the roots as closely as you can...

so my first idea, and I have never tried this, just thinking out-loud, is try a chisel plow, but you will need multiple passes in different directions to keep from having streaks of alfalfa. After the chisel go in with a off-set heavy disk.

My second idea is a mounted roto-tiller. Seems that would chop it up well just below the crown and then again I would bring an offf-set disk in.

Curious to see what some other folks think, because as I have stated, these are just thoughts, I have never tried it, but I do know a moldboard plow does a good job.

Just out of curiosity, is the stand pretty depleted? That would make a difference or for the organic operation do you take it out while still decent and take the nitrogen credits? Thanks, my knowledge on an organic operation is tied to what I read, not practice. Love to here more about the operation.


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## evan (Jan 22, 2012)

The stands are usually going strong, we like to pick them up as they are going into their 3rd year of procution because they cany be certified. We have several small mounted tillers, our concern with the tillers is that they create a hardpan. Vetch is very good at shadding out alfalfa but that takes a year to get done and like any other operation the sooner we can get the fields into what we want the sooner we make money.


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## downtownjr (Apr 8, 2008)

Good point on the tiller, maybe bring in the chisel afterward would help, Thanks for the explanation, I am always learning as well.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Maybe a blade plow?Something like this only a smaller version.It leaves the top soil undisturbed.

Sunflower | Products » Fallow Tillage Tools » 3600


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## aawhite (Jan 16, 2012)

Might consider a disk ripper. It will turn/mix the soil. You'll get similar results to a chisel then disk operation, but in a single pass. Sweep with a soil finisher afterwards for a final seedbed.

Expensive equipment if you don't already own. You might be able to find a dealer that would rent it you you.


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## evan (Jan 22, 2012)

That blade plow looks really interesting, has anyone ever used one? I have never seen one before, the size isnt of concern to me so much as the availability of it is. i would imagine that you could pull a fairly large one of those through the ground witha 5288.
Thanks
evan


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## aawhite (Jan 16, 2012)

We see them a lot in Kansas, lot of guys use them to apply N prior to drilling wheat. Better be ready to go in with some type of verticle tillage tool. Fields I've scouted with the blade plow were left with a hardpan at the plow depth. Tat will be an issue with any tool that moves horizontally in the soil.


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## Thad (Nov 29, 2011)

The first thought that comes to my mind is flood it. Were u are that may be out of the question. But just puting it out there.


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## jenkinsfarmsinc (Dec 8, 2011)

I was thinking of some type of a sweep plow, the hardest part will be cutting the roots to kill the alfalfa. My brother has an apple orchard that used to be a productive alfalfa field, which he bought from our neighbor who didnt kill off the alfalfa before planting the trees, so the neighbor would go in and just disk in between the rows of tress. I swear the alfalfa crown was just split open and it recloned itself ten fold. That was some of the best alfalfa around!


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Are you in an area that gets cold in the winter? If so i can help


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## evan (Jan 22, 2012)

well normally yes we get pretty cold winters here, although this winter has been pretty mild thus far, what do you have in mind?


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

a chisel plow with sweeps, you will need two passes in different directions to keep from having streaks of alfalfa. Then a pass with a field cultivator every time you see a green sprout.

A Boot Leg Wick Applicatior with Banvel behind a 4 wheeler. Just keep the wick at a no till friends place. 
If the farm has a sprayer for Compost Tea slip some WeedMaster in and call that priming with Compost Tea.

From time to time, I male some fun with the religious No Till advocates, also.

*The field cultivator will do the job for you, more or less. *


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

here i would use a spray plane with some banvel


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Found this out by accident a few years ago. Tried it last winter and it worked again. I angled my blade on my dozer tractor added a little down pressure and "dozed" the field twice at right angles. Seems it disurbed the alfalfa enough allow it to winterkill. I know we had some downright cold weather after that so maybe this is not an every year approach you can use. It didn't hurt the grasses as far as i noticed. I'd say it killed maybe 90% of the alfalfa out.


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## Farmineer (Mar 5, 2012)

I would think a blade plow would work. If you are concerned about forming a hard pan, I think you would end up removing it with the disc you would end up running after the blade plow. You might have to wait a couple days for the crown to die off. If you are going with veggies I am assuming you are not on heavy clay ground, a good disc should work it deep enough??

My father-in-law (organic dairy farmer) used a Howard roto-vator after first crop to put in corn only to find a better alfalfa crop with rows of corn in it. Turns out that year was the year not to do that because of the rainy weather pattern.


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## LeadFarmer (May 10, 2011)

I tried several different methods this season, I will share my experiences!

A- I pulled the chisel plow through 35 acres, one pass, and was actually very unsatisfied with the results. The ground was shattering and pulling up the hay in definite streaks, a pass in a different direction would have simply left me with a grid of alfalfa. Very, very poor kill. For my second pass I used this:

Subsoiler 500-S - We have a DWK-590S, the nine shank model.

No more alfalfa.

Option B: I made my first pass here with this:

Finishing Rippers - The ground looked much better than behind the chisel plow, but I still was not satisfied with the kill I got. Again, my second pass here was with the big nine shank Koenig subsoiler.

Option C: One pass, very deep with the big Koenig subsoiler. I ran the chisel nearly all the way into the ground, speed of 4.5-5 mph using a Case 535 Quadtrac. This worked the best, by far, for first pass killing.

To make it a little cheaper, I decided to keep the big beast out of the field for a second pass and instead I ran my Case plow. Option C was by FAR the best option for me, here in my dirt. I got an excellent kill.

Our preferred method of mechanically killing alfalfa is two passes with a subsoiler. The first pass is usually somewhat shallow, but very high speed, to shatter the ground and pull up deep roots. Now that we have the big Case, we are able to make that first pass much deeper, yet still pull at the same speed, giving us excellent ground shatter and major killing power.


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