Harvesting For Hay
Category:
ALFALFA
Japan clover is a good hay plant when grown on
strong soils. The quality is good also when grown under adverse
conditions, but the quantity is deficient. On good soils, the yield is
from 1 to 2 tons per acre, the average being about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 tons.
The hay is also quite merchantable in Southern markets. It is considered
superior to baled timothy--timothy brought in from the North--especially
when fed to cows producing milk. Japan clover is best cut when the
plants are in full bloom. But harvesting is frequently deferred to a
period somewhat later where self-seeding of the land is desirable. Late
cutting, however, lowers the quality of the hay, both as regards
palatability and digestibility. Much that has been said as to the
curing of medium red clover will also apply to Japan clover.
Successive crops of hay may be grown from year to year on the same land,
as already intimated. (See page 285.) But where other crops are wanted
on the same farm, it would be wiser to grow these in some sort of
alternation or succession with the clover crops, so that the former
could feed upon the nitrogen brought to the land by the clover.
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Securing SeedPrevious:
Pasturing
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