CORN Newsletter: 2009-30, September 8, 2009

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C.O.R.N Newsletter 2009-30
September 8, 2009 - September 14, 2009

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Fall Cutting of Alfalfa
by Mark Sulc


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Every year many Ohio alfalfa producers take a fall cutting. Unfortunately, cutting alfalfa in mid-September to mid-October can carry serious risk to the health of the stand. Cutting during this period interrupts the process of storage of energy and proteins in alfalfa taproots. When alfalfa is cut during this period and if soil moisture is adequate, the plant will regrow and utilize those precious taproot energy and protein reserves that are needed for winter survival and spring regrowth next year.

Fall cutting may not result in real obvious stand loss, although that can occasionally happen. The more common occurrence is for fall-cut alfalfa stands to suffer some loss of vigor and yield next year that is not so obvious. One could only see such loss of vigor and yield next year if side-by-side comparisons were made within the same field, where strips of alfalfa are cut or not cut this fall. Often, the yield gained by fall cutting is lost in reduced yields the following year.

If producers are in need of additional hay supplies this year, they can minimize the potential for damage from cutting alfalfa stands this fall.
A late fall harvest is a safer alternative than cutting mid September to mid-October. By late harvest, I mean as close as possible to a killing frost of alfalfa, which happens when air temperatures reach 25 F for several hours. This often does not happen until sometime in November in Ohio. But I recommend this late harvest option only if the soil is well-drained, the stand is healthy, a variety is planted that has excellent winter hardiness, and the soil has good fertility status.

I know that the weather is usually lousy in November for cutting forage, but waiting to get closer to the killing frost will prevent the late fall regrowth that “burns up” energy reserves. Thus, cutting late when fall regrowth is less likely will reduce the risk of loss of vigor next spring. A fall harvest after a killing frost is relatively safe if the soil is well-drained and there is no history or risk of heaving on that particular soil. Without residue cover, the temperature at the soil surface will fluctuate more, so the potential for heaving injury is greater.

I am often asked whether leaving a large amount of fall growth can harm the alfalfa stand in the winter. The fear is that the alfalfa will “smother itself out”. I have let pure stands of alfalfa go into the winter with a lot of growth, even more than we see this fall, and I have never experienced a problem or seen the crop “smother out”.

Fall management of alfalfa is one of the few controllable factors that will potentially influence the health of your alfalfa stand next year. It could play a determining role in how much yield you get next year. If you don’t need the forage, walk away from it this fall and let it insulate those alfalfa crowns this winter. The stand won’t smother out because of excessive alfalfa growth.
If you do need the forage now and to get through this winter, then taking a cutting in early November or after a killing frost will reduce the risk of injury to the stand. But try to limit late cutting of alfalfa to well-drained soils with good pH and fertility status. Also leave a 6-inch stubble.
Finally, if you do cut alfalfa this fall, leave several different strips or areas within the same field where you do not cut. You might learn something interesting next spring about fall cutting on your farm.

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C.O.R.N. is a summary of crop observations, related information, and appropriate recommendations for Ohio Crop Producers and Industry. C.O.R.N. is produced by the Ohio State University Extension Agronomy Team, State Specialists at The Ohio State University and Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. C.O.R.N. Questions are directed to State Specialists, Extension Associates, and Agents associated with Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at The Ohio State University.

Information presented above and where trade names are used, they are supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by Ohio State University Extension is implied. Although every attempt is made to produce information that is complete, timely, and accurate, the pesticide user bears responsibility of consulting the pesticide label and adhering to those directions.

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.

TDD # 1 (800) 589-8292 (Ohio only) or (614) 292-1868


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