Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes Chapter 19

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Unit 9 Objectives: • Describe cultural practices of growing forage legumes, peas • Identify criteria for selecting forage legumes • Understand climate/temp needs • Examine the relationship of maturity – stage of blooming – to protein content of a forage

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Peas • Processing or market may determine variety grown • Cool-season, best grown in late-summer or early fall • Both bush and vine types available for edible pod and regular shelling peas • Vine types produce more for longer periods of time • Require climbing trellis • Cooler, moist climate

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Soil • Uniformity in fertility, type, slope, drainage required • Preferred soils: silt loams, sandy loams, clay loams • Need good supply of available moisture • Peas grown in wet soils do not develop adequate root systems • Root rot is often problem • Can dry out as season gets drier • 6.5 pH or higher for maximum yields

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Soil Temperature at Planting • Good germination at 39-57º • Ensure firm seedbed • Level land makes harvesting more efficient • Harvesting & processing determined by heat units and the processor • April plantings - ~70d to harvest • May plantings - ~60d to harvest • June plantings - ~55d to harvest

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Seeding • 3-6 seeds/ft of row, 6-8” row spacing • 1.5 – 2” depth • 480,000 plants/ac • Adequate, not excessive moisture • Slight rolling is ok • Fertilizer • Fertilizer response difficult to predict because of various influences • N • Rates should be dictated by soil testing • Seeds should be inoculated at planting to ensure adequate supply of N fixing bacteria

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • P • Should be banded w/ N, K • Required for vigorous early growth • K • Apply and incorporate before planting, or band • Don’t drill w/ the seed to prevent injury • Weed Control • Cultivate as often as necessary for small weeds • Strive to eliminate chemical applications • Insect Control • Observe crop rotation recommendations • Crop may be susceptible to armyworms, cutworms, grasshoppers, loopers

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Disease Control • Best management practices will reduce disease risk • Crop rotation, fertility, soil selection, etc. • Nematodes • Use seed from reputable sources • Blights, mildews, stem rot, root rot, etc. • Harvesting, Handling, Storage • Timing determined by tenderometer reading, weather, soil conditions • Yields increase w/ maturity, but decreases quality • Harvested w/ machining process similar to a combine

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Storage • Must be promptly cooled to ~32º & 90-95% humidity • May use a hydrocooler to cool quickly, preferred method • Pack w/ ice after precooling to maintain freshness • Don’t keep more than 3 wks under the best storage conditions before canning or sale as fresh

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Forage Legumes • Environmentally friendly, improve soil tilth, reduce pesticide use, reduce soil erosion, improve profitability for the producer, excellent feed source • Species Selection • Target use should dictate selection • See pg. 479 for legume forage recommendations

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Alfalfa • Productive, even during summer, unless extreme drought • Can last 5+ yrs under proper mgmt • Excellent quality forage • Best Management considerations • Timely cutting • Control insects, diseases, weeds • Replacement of nutrients removed by the forage

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Site Selection & Soil Fertility • Prefers: deep, fertile, well-drained soils, pH 6.0-6.5 • Mixing w/ orchard grass, etc. may help improve and lengthen the stand • Requires high fertility for stand establishment • Especially P • Soil test to determine needs • Incorporate lime before seeding • Resample soil after 2 yrs to check fertility • Help to ensure stand longevity • Topdress limestone

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • P establishes vigorous stand, stimulates root growth for summer drought resistance, quick spring growth, etc. • N, K needed in small amounts • General needs at seeding: • 20-30 lbs N • 20-60 lbs K • Incorporate for best effect • Variety Selection • Consistent high yields • Moderate winter hardy • Moderate to high disease resistence

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Establishment • May be frost-seeded, broadcast, no-tilled, or drilled • Frost-seed – Jan or Feb • Allow freeze/thaw to work seed into soil • No-till or drilled tends to produce a better stand • Plant no deeper than ¼” for quick emergence • Firm seedbed • Key to establishing a good stand – especially in dry yrs • Broadcast seeding • Firm the seedbed w/ a cultipacker or roller before & after planting

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Companion Crop • Can be fall-seeded w/ wheat, oats, etc. • Broadcast during the winter • Provides protection for the young, new crop • Also competes for nutrients, light, etc. • Usually expect 1 cutting of hay in late August, early Sept when seeded w/ companion crop • Seeding Rates & Mixtures • Seeding alone • 15lbs/ac of certified seed

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Mixed seeding w/ grass • 10lbs/ac Bromegrass • 6lbs/ac Orchard grass • 10lbs/ac Tall Fescue • 6lbs/ac Reed Canary Grass • Decreases potential for heaving in the winter, reduces weed competition, lessens damage to soil structure from grazing, reduces bloat potential • Maintaining Alfalfa Stands • Annual fertility program & proper harvest management will increase stand longevity & production

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Initial seedings • 15+ plants/sq ft • As plants die, others increase in size to take up the space • Alfalfa-grass mixtures can maintain productivity with only 2 alfalfa plants/sq ft • Annual Fertilization • May need: P, K, Boron, lime? to maintain a vigorous stand • Apply according to soil tests • Single application after 1st cutting, or split applications after 1st & 3rd cuttings

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Harvest Mgmt • Stage of maturity determines hay quality • Quality declines rapidly after flowering • Should not be grazed/harvested from Sept – Nov 1 • Allows plant to store root reserves for overwintering • After Nov 1 – may take another cutting or graze if soil is well drained, or have a grass mixture • 3-4 cuttings/yr at bloom stage – stand longevity = 6+ yrs • 3-5 cuttings/yr at bud stage – stand longevity = 3-4 yrs

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Turn animals in at bud stage, graze to remove most top growth in 6-10d • Allow 30-35d for regrowth • Use poloxalene blocks to prevent bloat • Don’t turn hungry animals into the pasture • Insects • Alfalfa weevil • Usually damages 1st cutting • Scout for following infestations • Spray when 25% of tips are skeletonized or cut early

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Potato Leafhopper • Sucks juices from the plant • Yellowing and decreasing plant nutrient content • Damage may be significant before yellowing is apparent • Scout regularly • Weed Control • Establish a uniform, dense stand • Herbicide control depends on alfalfa growth, weed growth, stage of development, etc.

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Diseases • Phytophthora Root Rot, bacterial wilt, crown rot • Choose resistant varieties • Use crop rotation • High quality seed • Red Clover • Short-lived perennial legume • Hay, pasture, green manure crop • Not as productive as alfalfa in the summer • Easily established w/ no-till interseeding, or frost-seeding

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Harvest 3-4x/yr for medium Red Clover • Bird’s-Foot Trefoil • Deep-rooted perennial legume • Tolerant of lower pH’s, moderate to poor drainage, marginal fertility, withstand flooding, drought • Somewhat difficult to establish • Should be seeded w/ another crop • Characteristics: • Excellent quality forage

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Fair palatability • Stores well • Nonbloating • Well-suited for grazing • White Clover • Low-growing, short-lived • Well suited for pastures • Improves forage quality of grass pastures • Reduces need for N fertilizer • Same seeding options as red clover

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Shallow rooted • Doesn’t tolerate drought well • Ladino clover • More productive variety • Annual Lespedeza • Spring-sown, warm-season legume • Hay, pasture, soil erosion control • Relatively low yielding • High quality nutritive value • Excellent for pasture in the late summer

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Can persist well if allowed to reseed • Managing Forages • Seed Yr Management • Establishing good stand critical for production • Select proper species • Use proper crop rotation to improve productivity, reduce disease risk, insect problems • Don’t reseed alfalfa after an alfalfa stand • Produces a toxin that will reduce germination & growth

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Fertilization & Liming • Essential for economic forage production • Soil test before seeding for proper nutrient balance • Test continually to maintain proper nutrient levels • pH above 6.5 • Lime when pH is >.2-.3 less than recommended pH • Seed Inoculation • Inoculate w/ proper N fixing bacteria prior to seeding to ensure good nodulation

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Especially important in fields that haven’t had legumes • Purchase proper inoculum for the forage seeded • Check expiration date on seed bag, reinoculate if necessary • Seed Treatment • Highly recommended for control of root rots • Helps stand establishment • Spring Seedings • Plant as soon as area can be prepared after Mar 15 • Plants will be well-established by summer

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Weed pressure may be a struggle • Seeding w/out a companion crop may allow for 2-3 cuttings in the seeding yr • Seeding w/ a companion crop will increase tonnage the first yr, forage quality will be decreased • Manage the competition when seeding • Use early-maturing, stiff-strawed varieties • Sow at 1.5-2.0 bu/ac • Remove small grains early as silage or pasture • Don’t apply additional N to the companion crop

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes • Late Summer Seedings • Excellent time for stand establishment if moisture is sufficient • Time to establish before winter • August is preferred time • Don’t use a companion crop • Seeding Basics • Smooth, firm, weed-free seedbeds • Conserve moisture • Seeding depth ¼ - ½”

Unit 9: Forage & Food Legumes