Alfalfa

[Anonymous-0]

Planted an eight acre alfalfa/timothy field on April 30th. The alfalfa is only 4 to 6 inches tall, some in flower and the leaf hoppers are through out the field. The dairy farmer up the road told me to cut it which I did but there is nothing there to bale. My question is, should I spray to get rid of the leaf hopper since the cutting are still in the field or just let it go.

 

[bullfrog]

Leafhoppers should leave once it's cut. But they'll be back.

 

[sdc eastern ia]

If you spray it you need some leaf surface or regrowth. So spray it when your alfalfa greens up or has yellowing around the edge of the leaf.

 

[jackinok]

My opinion,cut it,once it flowers its going to seed and it will stop growing. You have to cut it to keep it growing. You can graze it down too,but youll lose a lot to trampling,and if you graze it too far youll set it back. Of course if its as dry there as it is at my place nothings growing anyway. You could i suppose, let it go to seed if its too thin to bale. Then run over it with a straight set disc. That may help thicken up your stand for next season. But i dont have a clue as to what that may do to your timothy. Nows the time to decide though once it flowers your losing a lot of nutrients.

 

[Anonymous-0]

My stand is full not thin at all but we have not had much rain since it was seeded. My concern is more with the leaf hoppers, I cut it as short as possible with out tearing up the field but even at that I was only taking a couple of inches off to remove the flower. Most of the field you couldn't see any thing laying on top of the stubble, not even worth spending the time to try raking it. So by cutting it I have removed one problem, the flowers. Will the leaf hoppers leave now that the flowers are gone? What about their eggs, since there is no way to remove the cutting from the field, will I have a hatching that will do more damage?

 

[paul]

In general if you cut it you should not need to spray. Wait 15 days in normal conditions to regrow some & might need respaying sometime after that as conditions require, not before.

The dry makes it a bit more difficult, won't regrow fast, probably shouldn't need spray as fast either, but just have to keep watching it.

Never any perfect, one-way solution.

--->Paul

 

[Northvale - PA]

yes, spray for leaf hoppers, they do a number on seedlings, especially when its dry.

 

[MARK ROBKE]

Post this question on the USING YOUR TRACTOR AND CROP TALK FORUM down below, and ask for KY HAYMAN.He is pretty sharp as he used to work for the extension office, I believe.I, too, would like to hear his response.
MARK

 

[jackinok]

grass hoppers lay their eggs in the ground mostly,so cutting it makes no difference.though they might leave for a time ,( no reason they should) they will be back.I just automatically plan on spraying alfalfa each year,around here if its not grass hoppers its army worms.if its not that its blister bugs. theres only one way to kill grasshoppers without spraying that i can think of ,and thats plowing with a moldboard plow that will bury there eggs deep enough they cant dig out.saw a report on one of the farm shows,that said we were setting ourselves up for locust swarms like we had years ago since most everyone has gone no till. grasshoppers this year are bad here also. but they make good fish bait!!