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Advice Needed...Planting a "wetter" field in alfalfa
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Hay Wilson in TX
Posted 4/5/2008 10:13 (#350446 - in reply to #350359)
Subject: For better or worst, some advise from Texas



Little River, TX
Their HybriForce 400 Wet or Magnum Wet probably would do.

Look over the big listing at http://alfalfa.org/pdf/NAFA%2007-08%20Varieties%20Leaflet.pdf which is in http://alfalfa.org

I would suggest a FD 3 or FD 4 variety, for your winters. From hard earned experience I would say only buy a variety that has both PRR & Aph (HR) resistance.

In theory the Wet varieties have a more branching root structure, and this is supposed to improve the survival in wetter soils.

America's Alfalfa also has some traffic tested varieties, which are basically the same root structure as the Wet varieties.

After that look at the other pest resistance values and pick the one(s) that most meet your disease and insect potential problems. Hope you can find a variety that also has potato leaf hopper resistance.

On the PRR & Aph resistence, I have only used a HR resistant variety for 20 years. Now retired Seed specialest told me, even if Aph is not a problem for you or I, the better the Aph rating the better the survival of the stand will be.
PRR translates to Wet Foot Root Rot. HR means at least half the plants will survival the root fungus. Still put the plant under water for a few days to a week and the plants will drown.
Aph is simply another root fungus, but one not as wide spread.

In 2007 I lost all my alfalfa fields to both drowning and/or wet foot root rot. The one field with both PRR & Aph resistance had 90% out right drowned but the slightly higher ground the alfalfa survived the disease problems. On the fields with only PRR resistance 20% of those fields did drown, but the other 80% died from root fungus. Theses fields stayed satruated for most of the summer.
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