Alfalfa Stand Analysis
Stand Analysis by Plant Count
This is the conventional way of checking the condition of a stand — counts that must be based on live, healthy plants — which does not count plants that have severely damaged roots or develop shoots of different lengths.
(Plants per square foot)
Alfalfa Age (yrs) |
Good |
Marginal |
Tear up |
1 |
12+ |
8 - 12 |
< 8 (overseeding still may be an option) |
2 |
8+ |
5 - 6 |
< 5 (autotoxicity limits overseeding success) |
3 |
6+ |
4 - 5 |
< 4 |
4+ |
4+ |
3 - 5 |
< 3 |
More growers are looking at stem count as a more accurate way of analyzing a stand. Products like TS 4007 have the potential to produce a lot of stems without a high plant count.
Stand Analysis by Stem Count
At 4” - 6” avg. height — count stems over 2”
(Stems per square foot)
Alfalfa Age (yrs) |
Good |
Marginal |
Tear up |
2 yrs.+ |
55+ |
45 - 55 |
< 40 |
Credits:
- University of Wisconsin
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Soybean Aphids