Queen of Forages

Because of its importance among forage crops, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is referred to as     "Queen of Forages". Lucerne is another name sometimes used for this species which was first cultivated in Iran. Alfalfa was first successfully grown in the United States during the mid 1850's and is now most intensively grown in Wisconsin and other Upper Midwest states. The history of alfalfa in Oklahoma began with the first settlers. Many brought alfalfa seed from wherever they came, and descendants of some of those introductions are still grown by a few Oklahoma families.

During the last 25 years, alfalfa acreage has remained between 350,000 and 600,000 and is concentrated in the western half of the state. The cash value to Oklahoma rose from $74 million in 1977 to a high of $129 million in 1992. Part of this increase was due to average forage yields increasing from 3.2 to 3.6 tons per acre over this period. Higher hay prices also contributed -- rising from $60 per ton in the late 1970's to more than $90 per ton during the1990s.

Alfalfa is one of the most important forages for livestock. It is the most important high-quality forage crop because of its high protein, vitamins, energy, and digestibility. Alfalfa can be used whenever herbivores need a high quality diet for:

• growth
• stamina
• strength
• production of meat, milk, wool, and eggs.

Alfalfa is used as a high quality component of forage mixtures and allows use of lower-quality forages in rations. It is also important for soil enrichment, soil water holding capacity improvement, mulch, and extraction of deep minerals and nitrogen. It is even used by humans in nutritional tablets and health food!

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The combination of the following traits into a description for a single species adapted to widely diverse environments makes alfalfa unique. Important descriptors for alfalfa include:

Herbaceous Legume Forage Quick regrowth capacity Nitrogen fixing Deep-rooted Resilient Heat and cold resistant Drought resistant Adversity avoider (dormancy)

Leafy and palatable Highly digestible Nutritious Responsive to good management Storable as cubes, pellets, hay, or silage Utilized fresh for grazing, green chop, or green manure Competitive with weeds Reproduction by seeds, rhizomes, stolons, and cuttings Persistent perennial

High-yielding alfalfa requires deep soils to store an abundant water supply for season-long growth. High yield requires large quantities of water (from rainfall, water table, or irrigation). Alfalfa requires approximately 6 inches of water in the root zone for each ton of hay produced per acre per year.

In addition soils should have a pH near neutral (6.6-7.5) and be fertile enough to supply large quantities of nutrients. The benefits of having a desirable pH include:

• decreased solubility of toxic elements
• increased availability of essential nutrients
• increased activity of soil micro-organisms
• better nitrogen fixation.

Harvesting five tons of hay per acre removes approximately 50 pounds of phosphorus (P₂0₅), 100 pounds of calcium, and 220 pounds of potassium (K₂O) from the soil. Eventually these nutrients must be replenished with fertilizer applications as indicated by a professional soil analysis.

All soil textures (sands, loams, and clays) can be used for alfalfa; however, soils should be well drained to avoid root and crown diseases and to allow oxygen flow to roots for nitrogen fixation by Rhizobium bacteria. Soils with pH near neutral favor nutrient availability and Rhizobium activity for good alfalfa production.

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Alfalfa Production Guide for the Southern Great Plains, 2001
Comments and Questions:
E-mail: John Caddel

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