Alfalfa planting technology

Alfalfa, also known as cauliflower, is a kind of forage grass, which is mainly wild, and has high application value. It is used to feed poultry and make green fodder in many areas, so it has certain planting prospects. What are the alfalfa planting techniques?

1. Land selection and preparation

The best way to plant alfalfa is sand or loam which is close to water source, loose soil, moderate pH or slightly alkaline soil, and other land except clay can also be planted, but the yield and quality of alfalfa are relatively different. In the process of soil preparation, we should thoroughly remove the weeds in the field, always ploughing deeply, then fine and level the soil, and finally sprinkle enough organic fertilizer or farm manure as base fertilizer to wait for sowing.

2. Seed treatment

Alfalfa seeds should be cleaned before planting and then dried in the sun. Pesticides, herbicides, rhizobia and fertilizers can be mixed in proportion before sowing to avoid diseases and insect pests in the seedling stage.

3. Sowing method

The method of alfalfa seed sowing is generally strip sowing, with a row spacing of 30-40 cm. At present, the technique of dense ridge and sparse planting is popularized, with a row spacing of 15-20 cm, which not only increases the yield, but also facilitates field management.

4. Field management

(1) watering: after alfalfa seeds are planted, they need to be watered at the right time. When watering new alfalfa seedlings, it must be carried out when the seedlings grow 3 true leaves and the plant height is more than 5 cm. The roots of alfalfa are not tolerant to flooding. 24 hours of flooding will cause death, and attention should be paid to timely elimination of stagnant water in the field in the rainy season.

(2) fertilization: sufficient base fertilizer is needed before alfalfa sowing, 40-60 jin of calcium superphosphate per mu and 4000 jin of barnyard manure are applied at the same time.

(3) weeding: weeding should be done after alfalfa planting turning green, seedling stage, before and after the second cutting. Generally, weeding can be carried out by ploughing and chemicals after irrigation.

(4) Disease and pest control: after 4 years of alfalfa growth, there will be more diseases and insect pests. Chemical agents and removal of diseased leaves can be used for control, but the most fundamental control measure lies in the selection of disease-resistant varieties and seed dressing before sowing.