Alfalfa Management in North Dakota
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Date
1978
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North Dakota State University
Abstract
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The influence of establishment method and seeding rate in obtaining adequate dryland and irrigated alfalfa stands was studied in several field experiments at Fargo and Oakes, North Dakota. Alfalfa seeded with companion crops and the companion crop harvested as silage generally produced higher seeding-year forage yields, but lower quality forage, than the one or two harvests of alfalfa established with herbicides used for weed control (clear seedings). Companion crops harvested for forage and clear-seeded alfalfa, compared to companion crops harvested for grain, produced similar or greater gross dollar return/acre using January 15, 1978 prices and 1977 comparative yields. Establishing alfalfa with or without a companion crop had little effect on the forage yield during the three years following seeding.