Alfalfa fall seeded?

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smartin0022

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So I'm in central, Ky I planted 11 acres of alfalfa on a leased farm late august early September last fall. Stand is pure but not round up ready. Looks pretty good this spring but has a few weeds thin in a few spots but mostly doing well about the third trifoliate stage. I limed fields with 2 tons and acre of lime and put down about 2,000 lbs of DAP and 2,000 lbs of potash. My question is I was fixing to spray it with Raptor at 6oz an acre plus an adjuvant but we are fixing to have a cold snap for next 2 days how long after the cold snap should I wait or should I just wait and try to spray after 1st cut? My first year raising alfalfa
 

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Congrats on the stand of alfalfa. I am curious how it did through the cold snap we just had? Did you get down into the mid 20s there?

I know nothing about spraying herbicide, so can't help you there.
 
if you seeded the alfalfa in the fall, the stand should be thick enough and have a good head start on the weeds this spring. The pic looks good but an in person walk through the field would give a better idea of what advise to give. I personally do not spray for weed control on new seeded alfalfa. some weeds the first year are just part of establishing the stand. I cut when the alfalfa is just starting to head out which seems to be the same time the weeds like to really take off. So early cutting gives me my weed control and better quality of alfalfa. type of weeds probably varies also from central Ky and Iowa.
 
I'm not familiar with the Raptor product and have tried to research it over the past few days. Looks like it can work well against foxtails, etc Does it hurt fescue??? Kill or control??? I've been interseeding several novel varieties in a alfalfa stand that's thinning out
 
You should be able to largely manage the weeds with timely harvest and fertility.
While P & K are always pushed as key nutrients for alfalfa production, do not forget to test for sulfur, boron, & molybdenum. Depending on your soil genesis & past cropping history, you may need one or more of these micronutrients as well.
Spraying weeds is treating symptoms and not dealing with the problems.
 
My question was about the effect of Raptor on the novel fescues. I'm involved in a several-year renovation project on an old farm..with prior abuse from being a rental property... .with soil samples being pulled....and followed.....in 2017, 2019, and this spring of 2021. I'm all for rebuilding soil health, etc and go the extra mile in trying to do that...........just need a little bit of information on a product.....not a lecture please
 
Wait, Raptor is expensive. The cold snap may kill some of the weeds. The alfalfa will go back into dormancy if it's cold enough for long enough, then wake up when it's warm enough for long enough. That's when I would spray Raptor. What fall dormancy did you plant ?
 
You should be able to largely manage the weeds with timely harvest and fertility.
While P & K are always pushed as key nutrients for alfalfa production, do not forget to test for sulfur, boron, & molybdenum. Depending on your soil genesis & past cropping history, you may need one or more of these micronutrients as well.
Spraying weeds is treating symptoms and not dealing with the problems.
11-52 fertalizer 300 lbs per acre twice a year. I get 12 tons of alfalfa an acre a year.
 
I went ahead and sprayed the raptor with 80/ 20 surfactant I also applied boron to this stand at 2 lbs per acre. I put down 100,000 lbs of ag lime on 30 acres a little over 2k per acre. The raptor seems to be killing off the weeds and hasn't harmed the alfalfa. It it pretty cheap considering 1 gallon I purchased for $400 will cover 21 acres of Alfalfa at 6 Oz per acre. Will post more results as they come in with yields. I applied 200 lbs per acre of DAP and 200 lbs per a re of potash when I seeded. Will apply 100 lbs per acre of potash after the first cutting. It looks pretty strong but I have a biologist coming out in 2 weeks to write me crop damage tags for deer and Will ask him what he thinks.
 

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Well 1st cutting looks sub par. Lots of medium height alfalfa rather than what I had hoped for. The raptor killed the mustard and alot of the undesirable weeds but had alot of common vetch come up in the center of the main ridge. Hopefully the next cut comes in better gonna hit it with 160 lbs of potash per acre and 200 lbs per acre pellet lime after I get these squares off the fields.
 

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Well 1st cutting looks sub par. Lots of medium height alfalfa rather than what I had hoped for. The raptor killed the mustard and alot of the undesirable weeds but had alot of common vetch come up in the center of the main ridge. Hopefully the next cut comes in better gonna hit it with 160 lbs of potash per acre and 200 lbs per acre pellet lime after I get these squares off the fields.
 
I've considered trying alfalfa on a dedicated plot, but haven't been able to really visualize the gains over the clover & grass mix. Interested to see how yours pans out.

I planted quite a bit of cold grazer rye on new ground last August and we didn't have much rain at all until October. Seems to certainly have made a difference in how it turned out this spring. It's been okay, but nothing great like expected or hoped for. Did you have the same lack of moisture after planting?
 
I've considered trying alfalfa on a dedicated plot, but haven't been able to really visualize the gains over the clover & grass mix. Interested to see how yours pans out.

I planted quite a bit of cold grazer rye on new ground last August and we didn't have much rain at all until October. Seems to certainly have made a difference in how it turned out this spring. It's been okay, but nothing great like expected or hoped for. Did you have the same lack of moisture after planting?
Field all died out to army worms after 2nd cut. Lost it all. Maybe pulled 500-700 square bales 60-70 lbs off it b4 it got killed out. I'll never do it again. Orchard grass and Timothy for me from now on.
 

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