The Time To Cut Alfalfa
Categories: Grains and Forage CropsWhat is the best period to cut alfalfa hay for cow feed and the best
method for curing?
The best time to cut alfalfa is just when new shoots are starting out at
the crown. This will give the greatest yield of hay during a season, and
the hay will be much more palatable than if the alfalfa is permitted to
get well into the blossoming period. The leaves, which are the best part
of the hay, also remain on be
person does not care to take the trouble to find out whether the new
shoots are coming out or not, he can approximate the time to cut fairly
well by waiting until a blossom here and there appears, cutting
immediately. It would be difficult to tell on paper exactly when alfalfa
was properly cured, as that is a matter of individual judgment. It is
usual to cut in the morning and rake into windrows in the afternoon.
With the usual weather in interior California that stage of the curing
is completed by that time. The next day it can be gathered into cocks
and gotten ready to move. That is about all the curing that is done. The
size of the windrows depends upon the amount of hay, as thick hay should
be put up in small windrows to give plenty of circulation of air. It is
considered better also to build the cocks on raked land, otherwise the
hay lying flat at the bottom will not cure properly and cannot be
gathered up clean.
Which Crop of Alfalfa for Seed?
Which cutting of alfalfa should be left for seed bearing?
Which cutting is best for seed depends, of course, on the way the plant
grows in your locality. Where it starts early and gives many cuttings in
a season with irrigation a later growth should be chosen for seed than
with a short season where fewer cuttings can be had. The second cutting
is best in many places, but O. E. Lambert of Modesto after threshing
about 30 lots in one year tells us that some growers had left second,
some third and some fourth cuttings for seed. He found the second
cutting very poor both in yield and grade, much of it not being well
filled and the seed blighted, as the growth of hay was too heavy. The
seed on third cutting was good both in grade and yield. Much of the seed
on fourth cutting was not matured. For good results the stand should be
thin. Our drier, heavier lands give the best results, sub-irrigated
lands not seeding. All irrigation should stop with the previous cutting
for hay.
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