Alfalfa Planting Methods and Techniques Explained in Detail

Alfalfa is probably quite unfamiliar to everyone, many people do not know what it is, and some may not even recognize these two characters. Actually it is a kind of forage grass, mainly used as feed for livestock, and it has very high nutritional value for livestock, even higher than that of corn.

Alfalfa Planting Methods and Techniques

Alfalfa is the general name for plants of the genus Medicago. It is livestock feed. It is a perennial flowering plant. The most famous among them is purple-flowered alfalfa (Medicago sativa), used as forage grass. Purple-flowered alfalfa is a perennial leguminous forage grass, and it is also the most widely planted forage variety in the country and even in the world. Because of its strong adaptability, high yield, and good quality, it is known as the “king of forage grasses.” The lifespan of alfalfa is generally 5-10 years, and it can be planted in areas with annual rainfall of 250-800 mm and a frost-free period of more than 100 days. It prefers neutral soil. A pH of 6-7.5 is suitable, and 6.7-7.0 is best. Mature plants reach 1-1.5 m in height.

Alfalfa has very high nutritional value, is very rich in crude protein and vitamins, and has high levels of amino acids essential for animals. Alfalfa dry matter contains 15-26.2% crude protein, equivalent to half that of soybean cake and 1-2 times higher than corn; lysine content is 1.05-1.38%, 4-5 times higher than corn.

The yield of alfalfa varies greatly depending on variety, region, management level, and number of cuttings. Generally, it is cut three times a year (2-4 cuts in Liaoning), with a fresh grass yield of 2000-6000 kg per mu, and 4-5 kg of fresh grass drying into 1 kg of hay.  In our country, because of its high grass yield, long utilization period, strong regrowth ability, and ability to fertilize the field and increase yield, the advantages of purple-flowered alfalfa are fully demonstrated in animal husbandry. Purple-flowered alfalfa is the forage grass most preferred by all kinds of livestock. The crude protein content of leaves is 1-1.5 times higher than that of stems, and the crude fiber content is 50% less than that of stems. After five years of planting, it can be used as grazing land, but rotational cutting or rotational grazing by divisions should be carried out in a planned way. The younger and more tender it is, the greater the proportion of leaves and the higher the nutritional value. Therefore, the nutritional value of purple-flowered alfalfa is closely related to the harvest period. Young and tender alfalfa has a higher moisture content; as the growth stage extends, protein content gradually decreases and crude fiber content increases significantly. Alfalfa cut at the early flowering stage has high digestibility and good palatability. Productivity is high within 2-5 years after sowing, and green cutting or curing into hay can obtain higher economic benefits.

The stems and leaves of purple-flowered alfalfa are rich in protein, minerals, multiple vitamins, and carotene, especially with higher content in the leaves. When purple-flowered alfalfa is fresh and tender, leaves account for about 50% of the weight of the whole plant. On the same area of land, the digestible total nutrients of purple-flowered alfalfa are 2 times those of gramineous forage grasses, digestible protein is 2.5 times, and minerals are 6 times.  Purple-flowered alfalfa has good grass quality and strong palatability. The stems and leaves of purple-flowered alfalfa are tender and delicious. Whether for green feeding, silage, curing into green hay, processing into grass powder, or use in compound feed or mixed feed, all kinds of livestock and poultry prefer it most, and it is also the preferred green feed in the poultry industry.

The planting techniques for purple-flowered alfalfa are summarized as follows

1. Variety selection: Domestic varieties suitable for planting in our region include: Zhongmu No. 1  Gannong No. 3  Caoyuan No. 2, etc. Imported varieties include: Golden Empress (USA), Algonquin (Canada), etc. Among them, domestic varieties have strong adaptability and can be planted on mildly saline-alkali land; imported varieties have high yield and high quality and are suitable for planting in plots with better water and fertilizer conditions.

2. Sowing time: Sowing can be done in spring, summer, or autumn. Spring: mid-April to late May; summer sowing is prone to weed damage, so attention should be paid to weed control; autumn sowing: mid-August to late September.

Preparation before sowing

1. Land selection. The most suitable soil is neutral or slightly alkaline soil with deep, loose soil layers, convenient drainage and irrigation, and a pH of 6.5-7.5. It can also grow well on saline-alkali land with a soil salt content of 0.2%, but it is not suitable for clay.

2. Land preparation. Prepare the land finely and thoroughly remove weeds. For spring sowing, after the previous year's crop harvest, shallow plowing is needed to destroy stubble, remove weeds, and preserve soil moisture, then deep plowing should reach 20 cm, followed by harrowing and rolling to make it level; for autumn sowing, after the crop harvest, deep plow, harrow level, and break up clods.

3. Apply base fertilizer. Apply base fertilizer together with land preparation, with 2000 kg of barnyard manure, 10 kg of urea, 20 kg of potassium sulfate, and 50 kg of superphosphate per mu.  Because the seeds are not salt-tolerant, the soil should be irrigated before sowing to wash out salt, or sowing after rain is more likely to produce a full stand of seedlings.

 Sowing methods

1. Seed treatment. Seeds should be cleaned and sun-dried so that seed purity reaches 90%; before sowing, pesticides, herbicides, rhizobia, and fertilizers can be mixed in proportion for seed dressing to avoid seedling-stage pests and diseases. Dressing seeds with bacterial fertilizers such as rhizobia (1 kg of rhizobia can dress 10 kg of seeds) can increase yield by more than 20%.

2. Sowing time. Seed germination requires two conditions: first, soil temperature of 5 degrees C-6 degrees C, with the optimum temperature within 25 degrees C; second, relatively more water. Spring sowing and autumn sowing give the best results. Saline-alkali plots are not suitable for spring sowing, as it easily causes seedling death. 1) Spring sowing. In spring, sowing should be done before Qingming (late March-early April). At this time soil moisture is high, making it easy to obtain a full stand. If too late, it coincides with spring drought, making emergence difficult. 2) Summer sowing. Generally in June-July. During this period temperatures are high, there is more rain, seedlings grow quickly, but there are also more weeds and frequent pests and diseases. 3) Autumn sowing. Generally in late August-early September. This period is after the rainy season, with good soil moisture, suitable temperature, and slower weed growth, giving the highest sowing success rate. Regardless of which sowing method is used, it should be combined with rain or irrigation, preferably after rain. After sowing, it should be compacted to facilitate seed germination.

3. Sowing method. Generally drilling is used, with row spacing of 30 cm-40 cm. The currently promoted dense-ridge sparse-planting technique uses row spacing of 15 cm-20 cm, which not only increases coverage and raises yield, but also facilitates field management.

4. Sowing rate. For imported seeds, 0.75 kg-1.0 kg per mu; for domestic seeds, 1.0 kg-1.5 kg per mu. The amount used on saline-alkali land should be appropriately increased. In arid areas, because of insufficient water, sowing should not be too dense. For the amount per mu, use the lower limit when dry and the higher limit when moist.

5. Sowing depth. Alfalfa seeds are very small, and sowing depth depends on soil type: sow shallowly in moist soil and slightly deeper in dry soil. Generally 2 cm-3 cm, 3 cm-4 cm for sandy soil, and 2 cm for clay.

6. Compacting. If the soil is loose, compact it once before sowing to make it easier to control depth; compact it once after sowing, which helps preserve soil moisture.

Management after sowing

1. Replanting. After sowing, check seedlings and replant in time to ensure planting density.

2. Irrigation and drainage. Irrigation can be done by furrow irrigation or sprinkler irrigation. Water once before winter and once after green-up; after cutting, water timely depending on drought conditions; when watering newly planted alfalfa to preserve seedlings, it must be done after the seedlings have grown 3 true leaves and the plant height is above 5 cm. The root system of alfalfa is not tolerant of flooding; being submerged for 24 hours can cause death, so in the rainy season low-lying land should be drained of field water in time.

3. Fertilization. Apply sufficient base fertilizer before sowing. Use 20 kg-30 kg of superphosphate per mu, applied together with 2000 kg of barnyard manure. Bacterial fertilizers currently promoted in various places, such as yield-increasing bacteria, EM, and Penshibao, can all promote alfalfa growth.

4. Weed control. Weeding must be done after green-up, at the seedling stage, and before and after the second cutting. Generally weed after irrigation, and methods such as intertillage, harrowing and cutting, and chemical agents can be used. Chemical herbicides are divided into three types: first, soil-treatment herbicides suitable before sowing, such as dinitramine, vernolate, and glyphosate; second, pre-emergence herbicides, such as dinitramine, Harness, and Dual; third, post-emergence herbicides, such as Pursuit, soybean grass herbicide, and bentazone. But note that the drug effect should expire 2 weeks-3 weeks before cutting to avoid poisoning livestock.

5. Pest and disease control. After more than 4 years of growth, alfalfa has more pests and diseases. Chemical agents, early cutting, and removal of diseased leaves can be used for control, but the fundamental control measures still lie in selecting disease-resistant varieties and dressing seeds with chemicals before sowing.

6. Harvesting. Alfalfa can be cut 3 times-5 times per year. From the beginning of flowering to full flowering is about 7 days-10 days. The first cutting is most suitable at the beginning of flowering (1/10 flowering), when protein content is highest; at the latest it must not be later than full flowering, otherwise leaf loss is serious, stems become fibrous, and quality declines. The first cutting of alfalfa is about mid-to-late May; afterward, depending on water and fertilizer conditions, cut once every 30 days-40 days, leaving a stubble height of about 5 cm when cutting, as too high or too low is not good; at the last cutting, attention should be paid to leaving a growth period of 40 days-50 days to facilitate overwintering. After cutting, dry in the shade for half a day and bale and store in time, otherwise over-drying will cause leaf loss and affect grass quality.

No matter what plant is being grown, in fact it must go through such a process: first, the preparation work before sowing; second, the techniques and methods during sowing; and finally, the management after sowing. If attention is paid to all these aspects, then basically there is no problem in obtaining high yield.