BULLETIN NO. 29
1915
EXPERIMENT STATION
TUSKEGEE
NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE
TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, ALA.
ALFALFA
THE KING OF ALL FODDER PLANTS
SUCCESSFULLY GROWN IN
MACON COUNTY, ALA.
BY GEO. W. CARVER. M. S. AGR.,
DIRECTOR
PRINTED BY TUSKEGEE STUDENTS FROM FUNDS SUPPLIED BY
THE ASH FUND. ESTABLISHED IN MEMORY OF
MRS. ELLEN L. ASH.
THE TUSKEGEE EXPERIMENT STATION
BOARD OF REGENTS
Charles Coleman Thach, President Auburn, Alabama
R. F. Kolb M<Jntgomery, Alabafna
W, W. Campbell Tuskegee, Alabama
Charles W. Hare Tuskegee, Alabahia
"A. J. Wilborn .. Tuskegee, Alabama
Booker T. Washington Tuskegee Institute, Alabama
Warren Logan ..Tuskegee Institute, Alabama
STATION STAFF
G. W. Carver, M. S. Agr.-. Director
George R. Bridgeforth.. Director of Agricultural Industries
T. N. Cowen Farm Superintendent
N. D. Ricks Fruit Growing
M. W. Brooks Truck Gardening
R. S. Pompey Dairy Husbandry
H. B. Benson Swine Raising and Slaughtering
Matthew Woods Horse Husbandry
H. H. Boger.... Assistant in Agricultural Instruction
J. R. Fugett Dairying
C. W. Greene '. . Poultry Raising
J. H. Bias Veterinarian
L. J. Watkins Road Building and Construction Work
George B. Thornton ..Stenographer
T. M. Campbell.. Demonstration and Farmers' Institute Work
W. A. Tate United States Demonstration Work
O. D. Pyles Agricultural Instruction
E. M. Parrish Asst. in Agricultural Instruction
ALFALFA
THE KING OF ALL FODDER PLANTS, SUCCESSFULLY
GROWN IN MACON COUNTY, ALABAMA
G. W. CARVER. M. S. AGR., DIRECTOR
INTRODUCTION
For many years we have been testing in one way or another al¬
most every variety of legume that seemed in the least promising,
with the view to finding one or more that would succeed in this sec¬
tion and give us a permanent pasture without having to prepare and
re-seed the ground each year.
Alfalfa has really gone beyond the high standard set by its enthu¬
siastic admirers, and has in a remarkable way convinced the most
skeptical that it can be grown on sandy soil.
Location and Soil
In character the soil is a light-gray, sandy, upland, free from lime,
underlaid with red and yellow mottled clay, which crops out here and
there on the surface. The sand content ranges from 75 to 80 per
cent, and. is just the kind of soil upon which time-honored custom
says alfalfa will not grow.
The Beginning
Early in the summer of 1911 the land was broadcasted with 8
tons of barnyard manure to the acre; plowed to a depth of 9 inches,
and sowed in cow peas, which made a heavy growth of vines and an
excellent crop of peas. The vines being too heavy were grazed off
by the cows, re-manured with 5 tons of barnyard manure to the acre,
5 tons of caustic lime (air slaked), and 5 tons of crushed lime rock
per acre. These were plowed in and harrowed thoroughly.
NOTE—Later experiments prove that 2 tons of caustic lime or 3
tons of agricultural lime per acre give just as good results on these
soils.
Inoculating the Seed
Before beans, peas, clovers, vetches, peanuts, alfalfa, etc., will
grow and thrive, the little germs (bacteria) must be present in the
soil so they can attach themselves to the roots, and form the charac¬
teristic swellings called nodules, foupd in greater or less abundance
on all healthy roots of the great pod-bearing family. The act of sup¬
plying the young plants with these germs is called inoculation, and
may be done in the following ways:
4
ALFALFA
1. By using a commercial germ, of which there are many now on
the market. All that is necessary is to follow the printed rules
which always accompany each package.
2. By securing soil from a good alfalfa or sweet-clover field. Scat¬
ter evenly over the field from 500 to 600 lbs. per acre of this soil.
Select a cool, cloudy day to do this work. Sow the seed at once, and
harrow or brush in lightly.
3. Where it is difficult to get large quantities of soil secure about a
bushel of earth carefully collected from among the roots of the
thriftest alfalfa or sweet-clover.patches; pass through a'coarse sieve
to remove the large lumps, trash, etc.; dampen the seed a little; mix
the soil- with them, and stir constantly until every seed has a little,
film of earth around it. This can be easily and quickly done by
spreading the seed out on a smooth floor. This method has given us
excellent results. The seed should.be sown at once or spread out in
the shade to dry.
Sowing
Select any good, Southern-grown seed if possible, and sow at the
rate of 25 lbs. per acre, which is very heavy seeding, but it is of dis¬
tinct value, in smothering out the weeds, which are the greatest en¬
emies to alfalfa growers.
Caution.—Do not inoculate and sow in hot, dry, sunshiny weather,
as the germs (bacteria) are very sensitive to excessive heat • and
bright sunlight, and many would be killed, rendering the inocula¬
tion more or less ineffective.
After-Management
From the very first, a war on weeds must be made. If they are
very thick and the alfalfa small and weak, they must be pulled out
by hand. All weak and sickly spots must be re-limed, re-manured,
and fresh seed sown. A hand-rake as a rule is sufficient with which
to put in the seed on these small patches.
Results
As previously stated, the ground for our two acres of alfalfa was
prepared as above described; the seed was of the Provence variety,
inoculated jvith Farmogerm, and sown November 4, 1911.
Note.—Owing to the extreme drouth in the fall, this seeding was
at least three weeks later than it should have been, as it did not give
time enough for the young plants to get sufficiently strong to stand
the winter as they should, and much of it froze out.
January 15th it was re-seeded with 15 pounds of seed to the acre.
A light scratch harrow was mdde by driving large spike nails
ALFALFA
5
through a plank, making the same into a V-shaped harrow. This
was run over the ground, and was sufficient to rake the seed in and
do little or no injury to the growing plants.
Cuttings
1912
April 17th, cut from it.. 1,000 lbs. green hay
June 3rd, cut from it 2,730 lbs. green hay
July 3rd, cut from it ;... 3,165 lbs. green hay
August 5th, cut from it 4,400 lbs. green hay
October 11th, cut from it 3,338 lbs. green hay
Total 14,633 lbs. green hay
Month - Rainfall
April 12.42 inches
May 1.85 inches
June 3.35 inches
July 6.23 inches
August 8.03 inches
September 5.94 inchse
October 2.05 inches
1913
April 16th, .cut from it 2,020 lbs green hay
June 12th, cut from it ....." 1,100 " " "
August 27th, cut from it 2,600 " " "
October 13th, cut from it 1,190 " " "
Total • • ..'••• 6,910 lbs. green hay
Month Rainfall
April 45 inches
May 1.46 inches As we recall, this
June 1.62 inches was a very dry year.
July 5.36 inches Corn planted along-
August 1.48 inches side the alfalfa burn-
September ' 4.78 inches ed up and did not
October 3.24 inches make anything.
1914
April 29th, cut from it... 5,505 lbs green hay
August 6th, cut from it; 1,200^ " " "
August 26th, cut from it.... 1 2,320 " "
Total
9,025 lbs. green hay
6 ALFALFA
Month Rainfall
April 4.34 inches
May . 1.03 inches
June ! 1.14 inches
July -1.20 inches This was also a
August 4.71 inchec very trying year on
September ... / 2.35 inches crops—very hot and
October 4.32 inches dry.
The rainfall during the growing season for the three years is most
interesting, and shows conclusively what a wonderful drouth-resist¬
ing plant we have in alfalfa.
1915
Month Rainfall
Note that April
April 51 inches was exceedingly dry
May 8.03 inches —May, the latter
part, excessively wet.
The grazing record for 1915 to date, June 5th, stands'as follows:
Beginning with April 6th, 12 milch cows and 1 horse were grazed
upon it every dayi£or 1 month—the exact milk record was kept for
only 1 cow. At tfae beginning of the period this particular cow gave
30 lbs., or 3 3-4 gals, of milk per day. At the end of three weeks'
grazing she gave 38 lbs., or 4 3-4 gals, of milk. The beet pulp and
rape, which previous to the grazing constituted part of the ration,
was cut off altogether. The other cows also made satisfactory milk
records.^
In addition to the above, a cow greatly run down in-flgsh_was put
in. Withiii a few days she began to increase in flesh". 4
All were removed and the plot allowed to grow for two weeks,
during which, time copious showers fell. It soon reached a height of
two feet, thick and wonderfully luxuriant.
Forty-eight milch cows were turned in and permitted to graze 4
; days in succession without doing the plot the slightest injury; in
fact, it seems thicker and better now than before it was grazed.
. Important Things to Remember
1. Bear in mind, if you wish to succeed with alfalfa, that you must
carry out the suggestions laid down in this bulletin.
2. Be sure the ground is well prepared before sowing.
3. Be sure to get good, clean seed, free from weeds of all kinds.
To insure this, purchase only from reliable'[seed houses.
4. Sow thick so as to smother out the weeds. Hand-pick the
largest ones. When the alfalfa gets high enough to bear cutting,
let the weeds grow until nearly ready to bloom; then cut them off
close to the ground with a mower.
ALFALFA
7
5. Remember that hundreds of acres of alfalfa are killed outright
or greatly weakened until the grower concluded it would not grow,
and plowed it up, simply because he did not understand when to cut
and when to graze.
One of the most valuable characteristics of alfalfa are the strong,
heavy crowns, from which a number of new stalks spring. Until
alfalfa is three or four years old it should not be cut until these
crowns form for the new growth. If one looks carefully he can see
them as little buds clustered around the root just above the ground.
The leaves on the stalks will also begin to turn yellow and fall off;
then it should be cut.
An alfalfa weeder is an excellent thing to run over it, which will
dig out the small weeds and loosen up the earth around the plants,
and give them new life. An old spring-tooth harrow, with the teeth
drawn down almost to a point, makes an excellent substitute for a
real weeder.
Grazing.
This should not be done .under three or four years, because the
crowns are not well developed until that time; antl many are the
patches killed by being impatient for results and grazing too early.
Do not make this mistake and blame something else for your failure.
6. Remember that when you get. a good field of alfalfa it is per¬
manent for many years, yielding handsome crops three or five times
a year (depending upon the season) or, if wisely done, continuous
grazing for all kinds of stock.
7. That there is practically no farm crop richer in real food nu¬
trients than alfalfa, and that all kinds and classes of domestic an¬
imals will eat it greedily and thrive off it with little or no grain.
It is also becoming quite popular as a food for man, and many are
the delicacies that frequently find their way upon our tables and just
as soon as we learn to appreciate its real value and the methods of
preparation become more universal, it will constitute an important
part of every well-compounded dietary.
8. Of the great list of agricultural plants that bring fertility to
the soil, alfalfa is king of them all.
9. That, if every farmer had a few acres of alfalfa and cattle,
sheep, hogs, goats, chickens, horses, mules, etc., to consume it, the
manure from these animals, carefully saved and returned to the soil,
within a few years wduld justify the whole South in boasting of
being the richest and most productive section of the United States,
if not of the world*
10. Let us hope that every farmer will plan now to put in at least
a small acreage of this wonderful plant this fall.