For
more information contact Mike Rankin
Mike Rankin
Crops and Soils Agent - Fond du Lac County
University of Wisconsin - Extension
Before looking at the data, a few comments by the local Crops Guy. This alfalfa variety trial is located on a Kewaunee soil on a field that is somewhat sloped. Thus, these alfalfa varieties are subject to the wrath of fungal diseases so common on fine-textured soils but there is also little chance of water standing in the field during the growing season or ice pools forming in the winter. The plots are randomized, replicated, and managed by the University of Wisconsin Alfalfa Variety Performance Project. Weed and insect pests are managed as to not confound yield data.
DO NOT make variety selection decisions based solely on this information. It is only one location and two years of data and not all varieties are represented in the field plot (it is a seed company's decision, not the UW's, whether they want to participate) . However, this information is offered here to help in the variety selection process and can be included in the body of yield documentation provided by the University of Wisconsin and other public or private institutions.
As you look at yield data, there are several things to note. First, Vernal (and varieties like it) just do not perform on our east central Wisconsin fine-textured soils. It has been dead last for the past two years. The penalty for seeding Vernal during the first two production years was about 4 tons d.m. per acre compared to the highest yielding varieties in the field trial. Also note the relative rank of these varieties for the two years. Some have been strong for both 1997 and 1998, some started strong in 1997 and fell-off in 1998, while others were only average in 1997 but were among the leaders in 1998. In 1997, the plots were cut 3 times before September 1 and a 4-cut system was employed in 1998 as a result of the advanced growing season. At this time, statistical analysis is not available but will be at a later date and can be accessed at the UW Forage Web Site. Varieties are listed in the order of their 1997-98 total season yield rank.
GO TO PERFORMANCE DATA: HTML Format PDF Format
For
more information contact Mike Rankin