Planting techniques of alfalfa

Alfalfa is widely planted as fodder and forage in Eurasia and countries around the world, and its stems and leaves are tender and delicious. No matter green feeding, silage, preparing hay, processing hay, processing hay powder, or mixed feed, all kinds of livestock and poultry like to eat most. It is also the preferred silage for pig and poultry industry. Let's take a look at the planting technology of alfalfa.

Planting time of alfalfa

1. Sowing time: the sowing time of alfalfa is generally divided into spring sowing, summer sowing and autumn sowing. The determination of sowing time mainly depends on temperature, moisture, harm degree of weeds, utilization purpose, existing conditions and so on. Among many factors, water is the decisive condition, and spring sowing, summer sowing and autumn sowing can be used where there are irrigation conditions.

2. Northern China: there is little rain and large evaporation in spring in northern China, so sowing in this season is not conducive to seedling emergence and seedling preservation, and weeds are easy to harm alfalfa seedlings during spring sowing. However, there is more rainfall in summer, and the temperature rises at this time, and the rain and heat are in the same season, which is very beneficial to seed germination and seedling growth. In other words, the best sowing time for alfalfa in northern China is from the middle of June to the end of July.

3. Cold areas: in cold areas, in order to ensure that alfalfa can survive the winter safely in the sowing year, the sowing time should not exceed 40 days before the first frost at the latest.

4. Saline-alkali land: when planting alfalfa in saline-alkali land without irrigation, we should pay more attention to grasp the sowing time. The distribution law of salt in saline-alkali soil varies with seasons. generally, in spring, the salt in the soil is mostly distributed in the upper shallow soil, but in autumn it moves to the deep soil. if there is rain and hot sun exposure after sowing in spring, the soil surface is very easy to form a hard layer, which makes it difficult for alfalfa to emerge. Therefore, the best time to sow alfalfa on saline-alkali soil is in late summer and early autumn, when the salt in the soil is washed down just after the rainy season, and the soil water content is sufficient, which is very conducive to seedling emergence and high seedling preservation rate.

Planting techniques of alfalfa

1. Sowing: most areas are dominated by strip sowing, with a row spacing of 30 cm, which is conducive to ventilation and light transmission and field management. The sowing rate is generally about 1 kg / mu, the planting fields should be less, the saline-alkali land can be more appropriately, and the seedlings are too large and weak. Sowing depth is the key to affect the quality of seedling emergence, generally sowing too deep, the best depth is 0.5-1 cm.

2. Weeding: weed removal is one of the main contents of alfalfa field management, one is in the seedling stage, and the other is after summer harvest, because the growth potential of alfalfa is weak and is seriously harmed by weeds in these two periods, especially after summer harvest, water and heat synchronous weeds grow fast, no matter what methods are adopted, they must be regulated in time. Herbicides should be chosen carefully so as not to cause livestock poisoning.

3. Irrigation and drainage: alfalfa consumes a lot of water, requiring 800 liters of water for every 1kg of dry matter. It should be watered before winter, after turning green and during drought. Attention should be paid to drainage in rainy season in coastal and low-flooded land, and alfalfa will die after flooding for 24 hours.

4. Disease prevention: when you encounter diseases and insect pests during the growth period of alfalfa, you must control them in time, otherwise it will affect the yield and quality. Fenitrothion, dimethoate, fenvalerate and other sprays are generally used to control pests, such as rust, brown spot and downy mildew, and carbendazim and thiophanate are used to control pests.

5. Harvest: harvest usually begins at the first flowering stage, that is, it reaches 1 / 10:00 when it is in full bloom, and cannot exceed the full flowering stage at the latest. The harvest times and stubble height of alfalfa are perennials with strong regeneration, which can be harvested 3-4 times a year, and the last harvest is not too late, otherwise it will affect the nutrient accumulation and is not conducive to safe overwintering. It is generally necessary to set aside a growth period of 40 to 50 days after harvest. The suitable height of stubble is 5 cm.

Planting value of alfalfa

The main results are as follows: 1. High grass yield: the grass yield of alfalfa varies greatly due to different growth years and natural conditions. the fresh grass yield and hay yield of 2-5 years after sowing are 2000-4000 kg and 500-800 kg respectively. In the areas with good hydrothermal conditions, the yield of hay can be 733-800 kg per mu. In arid and low temperature areas, the yield of hay is 400-730 kg per mu. The irrigated area of desert oasis produces 800-1000 kg of hay per mu.

2. Long utilization life: the life span of alfalfa can be as long as 30 years, and the field cultivation and utilization life is about 7 to 10 years. However, after entering the high yield period, its yield decreased with the increase of age.

3. Strong regeneration: alfalfa has strong regeneration, and it can recover quickly after mowing. Generally, alfalfa can be cut 2-4 times a year and 5-6 times a year.

4. Strong palatability: the stems and leaves of alfalfa are tender and delicious, no matter green feeding, silage, preparing hay, processing hay powder, used for compound feed or mixed feed, all kinds of livestock and poultry like to eat most, and it is also the first choice for pig and poultry industry.

5. Rich in nutrition: alfalfa stems and leaves are rich in protein, minerals, vitamins and carotene, especially in leaves. When alfalfa is fresh and tender, the weight of leaves accounts for about 50% of the whole plant, the content of crude protein in leaves is 1-1.5 times higher than that of stems, and the content of crude fiber is more than half less than that of stems. In the same area of land, the digestible total nutrients of alfalfa were twice as much as that of grass, 2.5 times of digestible protein and 6 times of minerals.

6. fertilizer field to increase production: the developed root system of alfalfa can provide a large amount of organic matter for the soil, absorb calcium from the deep layer of the soil, decompose phosphate, leave it in the tillage layer, and decompose to form organic colloids, which can make the soil form stable aggregates, improve soil physical and chemical properties, and root nodules can fix nitrogen in the atmosphere and improve soil fertility. In 2-year-old 4-year-old alfalfa grassland, the fresh root weight per mu can reach 1335-2670 kg, and there are about 15 kg of nitrogen, 2.3 kg of total phosphorus and 6 kg of total potassium per mu of stubble. Each mu can fix 18 kg of nitrogen from the air every year, which is equivalent to 55 kg of ammonium nitrate. Alfalfa stubble can achieve stable and high yield without fertilization for the next three years. The increase in production is usually 30% to 50%, and the high one can be more than doubled. The agricultural proverb says: "three mu of alfalfa fields per mu will not go away after planting for three years."

7. Soil and water conservation: alfalfa has luxuriant branches and leaves and large coverage to the ground. The second-year-old alfalfa grows for 40 days after turning green, and the coverage can reach 95%. It is also a perennial deep-rooted type, which plays a significant role in improving soil physical and chemical properties, increasing water permeability, blocking runoff, preventing erosion, maintaining slope and reducing soil erosion. It is determined that compared with alfalfa, the annual water loss per mu and soil loss per mu of common crops on sloping land are 16 times and 9 times larger than those of alfalfa.

8. Honey source plants: alfalfa is a strict cross-pollinated plant, which is often pollinated by external mechanical forces and insects collecting honey to open the tight keel petal. The flowering period is as long as 40-60 days, and the florescence is carried out in the field, which can greatly increase the honey yield and alfalfa seed yield.