Jackie Estrem, UMN Extension Educator- Sustainable Agriculture, Stearns, Benton, Morrison, & Sherburne Counties, and Taylor Herbert, UMN Extension Educator- Crops, Wright, McLeod, & Meeker Counties
The Alfalfa Harvest Alert Project, also called Scissor Cut, continued this week with samples taken on May 22nd. For many of the fields sampled, cool weather this week resulted in slow alfalfa growth. Windy conditions have resulted in varying amounts of lodging across the region. Aphid populations of note have been identified in southerly sample fields, but no significant levels of alfalfa weevil feeding or other disease have been reported.
As a result of last week’s cool weather, some RFV’s are holding up a little better than initially expected. On the 19th, some fields showed an increase in RFV. It has been observed that forage quality can sometimes improve over time when temperatures are cool. This is most often seen in the fall. In many plant species, a reduction in the production of lignin and cellulose, the structural components of plant cells, have been observed in cooler climates. Reducing the amount of fiber in plant cells results in greater digestibility, which is recognized by a higher RFV.
The goal of the Alfalfa Harvest Alert program is to alert growers to start the first cut of alfalfa when the crop is at a level of quality and yield potential that meets their specific needs. As a reminder, the goal is not to try and name the exact day of harvest. Rather the goal is to encourage growers who are busy with management of other crops to be more strategic with hay crop harvest as it relates to their needs.
As a result of last week’s cool weather, some RFV’s are holding up a little better than initially expected. On the 19th, some fields showed an increase in RFV. It has been observed that forage quality can sometimes improve over time when temperatures are cool. This is most often seen in the fall. In many plant species, a reduction in the production of lignin and cellulose, the structural components of plant cells, have been observed in cooler climates. Reducing the amount of fiber in plant cells results in greater digestibility, which is recognized by a higher RFV.
The goal of the Alfalfa Harvest Alert program is to alert growers to start the first cut of alfalfa when the crop is at a level of quality and yield potential that meets their specific needs. As a reminder, the goal is not to try and name the exact day of harvest. Rather the goal is to encourage growers who are busy with management of other crops to be more strategic with hay crop harvest as it relates to their needs.
How to get harvest alert data
The May 23rd Alfalfa Harvest Alert data is available as a pdf. However, there is also a tool that contains this year’s data and all the data from every county and farm that has participated in the Alfalfa Harvest Alert Program since 1997. As an added bonus, this year we are also including data from University of Wisconsin Madison Extension! Go to z.umn.edu/AlfalfaHarvestAlert to view the data. You can also get the most recent information through email by signing up at z.umn.edu/QuadCountySignup and clicking the "Alfalfa Scissor-Cut and Harvest Alert" box.
Comments
Post a Comment