Improvements help alfalfa producers' performance soar

If the alfalfa producers from the early 1900s were to step into the shoes of a farmer in 2009, they would likely be completely lost. Technology, research and innovations in the alfalfa field have given today's farmers the upper hand.

Kent Martin, a crops and soils specialist at Kansas State University's Southwest Research and Extension Center, Garden City, Kan., said there are debates as to whether or not there have indeed been significant improvements in alfalfa in general.

"Most recognize that the crop improvements lag behind annual grain crop improvements. There are several reasons for this," Martin said. "First is that alfalfa is a perennial crop and thus improvements are related to survival and over wintering of the crop. This means it takes several years before evaluations and decisions can be made to improve alfalfa."

Martin also said disease and pest resistance has been a priority in many of the U.S. breeding programs rather than directly working on yield improvements.

"Another reason for the debate as to whether or not yields are increasing over time is because comparisons over time and locations have generally not considered stand life and diseases," Martin said. "When these factors are all evaluated carefully, it is clear that improvements have been made between 1940 and the present. In environments conducive to stand loss, multiple disease resistance in current cultivars shows a distinct advantage over older cultivars."

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