Soil Chemistry, Fertility, Management and Plant Nutrition Research
Dr. Vincent Haby
Professor, Soil and Crop Sciences Department
email: v-haby@tamu.edu
 903-834-6191
.  Soils Homepage

Alfalfa Production on Acid, Humid-Region Soils                             V.A. Haby, F.M. Rouquette, Jr., A.T. Leonard, F.M. Hons


 
Abstract

The Coastal Plain of the southern and southeastern U.S. is dominated by highly leached, acid soils. Hybrid bermudagrasses developed on acid soils produce excellent forage yields in response to high rates of N. Alfalfa has not been a common forage in the Coastal Plain due to its intolerance to soil acidity and poor hay drying conditions caused by high humidity and frequent spring precipitation. The release of grazing-tolerant varieties has increased the potential for production of alfalfa on Coastal Plain soils. Research on interseeding and production of alfalfa concurrently with hybrid bermudagrasses is limited. Our interest in mixed stands of alfalfa and hybrid bermudagrass developed from the need to improve the forage quality in bermudagrass pastures without continued applications of N that increase soil acidity on sandy, low-buffer-capacity soils. The preliminary objective of this research was to evaluate production of 'Alfagraze' alfalfa with 'Coastal' bermudagrass to determine species competitiveness, yield, sustainability, and fertility requirements of this synchronous forage system on Coastal Plain soils. Guidelines resulting from this research on alfalfa production on Coastal Plain soils are presented here, and are similar for monoculture alfalfa.




next >>