Hello again forage growers, it’s been a good week.
The full May 8th Cutting Alfalfa-Grass Progress Report is available here or click on the image below. Alfalfa and grasses grew relatively slowly this past week, by about 3″ on average. Alfalfa heights averaged 12.3” but ranged widely, from 8” to 19”. We’ve experienced cool and wet weather over the past week, which slowed growth of grasses and legumes a bit, but GDD41 are still about 30 to 60 GDD ahead of the 15-year average across the NNY region, ranging from about 250 to 300 since April 1. Since that unseasonably warm week in April, cool weather has resulted in a much slower pace of GDD41 accumulation.
There’s still time to get 30-50 lbs of N on established grass fields but soon it will be helping 2nd cutting more than 1st. Nitrogen is NOT recommended for any field with 25% legume or more as this will favor the grass at the expense of legume in the stand, so there is no economical advantage.
Also, feel grass stems to locate how far that flower head has progressed up the stems. Grass heads were generally lower in the stem this week, so be aware that early mowing could miss them altogether. Check your own fields before mowing to ensure you’ll get the heads. Mowing early risks missing the seed head and this will cause quick heading of grasses for 2nd cut, reducing quality. Peak grass quality occurs at boot stage, just as that head begins to show itself at the top of the stem. Quality begins to decline from there, as the grass plants shift from vegetative growth to reproductive growth and spend energy on flowering and seed development instead of growing green tissues.
LASTLY, this report is meant to be a general guide, or an early-indication system, for your own fields. There is tremendous variation in alfalfa heights among the fields included this week. The best way to use this info is to know the % grass / %alfalfa in each of your own fields and monitor them directly. Note your own alfalfa heights and subsequent quality.
Watch for another alfalfa-grass progress report next week.