The choice of which variety to plant is an important question alfalfa producers must resolve before establishing new stands. Thousands of varieties have been developed during the last 40 years. The purpose of the Alfalfa Variety Evaluation Program at OSU is to help alfalfa producers decide which varieties to consider and to assist alfalfa breeders to choose which varieties to market in this area.

Normally 10 to 20 new alfalfas are submitted annually for testing in Oklahoma. We also include in these tests some varieties that are well tested to give a sound basis of comparison among varieties.

The table below summarizes data collected for many years (through plantings in 2001). Those wanting detailed information about alfalfa variety performance should visit http://alfalfa.okstate.edu/var-test/alf-var.html on the Internet. Currently, detailed results for the 1999-2002 harvest years in Oklahoma are available and can be printed from that site. If anyone desires older data, email the authors at john.caddel@okstate.edu

Varieties listed in Table 1 are well-tested. That is, they have been in several tests, representing diverse alfalfa production areas in the state. The more a variety is tested, the more confidence we have in its performance. Relative Yield is the relative ranking of a variety’s yield, compared to others in a particular test. A Relative Yield score of 100% indicates a variety’s yield performance is average among those in a test. The Minimum and Maximum relative yields indicate how widely a variety’s yield varies. All the varieties in Table 1 have produced yields well above average in test. The "Maximum" column shows how much above average each variety has yielded. Most have fallen below average one or more times. The column labeled "Minimum" shows the lowest relative yield we have recorded. When varieties are tested as much as OK 49 and Garst 630 (included as checks in many tests), there will be some failures.