Alfalfa Winterkill Assessments

The combination of moderate winter temperatures and/or heavy snow cover across the Midwest this winter should be friendly to our alfalfa stands this spring. Many areas experienced little to no frost in the ground as well, which should also minimize heaving events. On a broad scale, our biggest concern is the excessive amounts of moisture that have been received in many areas during the last few months, particularly in the north. As always, the condition of the alfalfa crop coming out of winter is very localized, so we need to assess stands individually.  Here are some reminders as you get into your fields:

• Recall any notes from fall stand assessments for comparison.
• Mid-April is a great time for stand assessments. Stands need to be coming out of dormancy, greening up for the year ahead.
• What to look for:
• Dig plants and split the taproot open. Roots should be firm, white, and smell like fresh cut alfalfa. Brown/yellow, rotten, and mushy tap roots/crowns are dead plants.
• The presence of black lesions (likely phytophthora), while not good, can be tolerated if the crown has not been choked out.
• Frost heaved plants will have the crowns pushed above the soil surface. If crowns are heaved only ~1/2”, there is a good chance they will be pulled back into the ground and be ok.
• Stand assessments are best done with stem counts. As stands age, the number of plants per square foot will decrease, but the number of stems per plant should be increasing to compensate. Survey the entire field.

Brian Weller Western Region 507.456.3034	Rod Moran Central Region 217.972.9839	Dan Ritter Central Region 219.863.0583

Branden Furseth Northern Region 608.513.4265	Mark Gibson Eastern Region 260.330.8968	Amanda Goffnett Eastern Region 989.400.3793	Ryan Mueller Product Portfolio and Agronomy Leader 608.295.0912

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