Securing Seed
Category:
ALFALFA
Japan clover is ready for being harvested when the
major portion of the seeds are ripe. This is late in the season. The
seed crop is more easily gathered when grown on good land, owing to the
more upright habit of growth. The self-rake reaper is probably the best
implement for cutting, since it lays it off in loose sheaves, and on
well-prepared land it may be made to cut so low as to gather the bulk of
the seed. But it may also be cut with the field mower as small white
clover is frequently cut. (See page 275.) Owing to the lateness of the
season at which the seed matures, careful and prompt attention may be
necessary to secure the seed crop without loss, owing to the moistness
which characterizes the weather at that season.
When Japan clover is to be harvested for seed, care should be taken to
prevent weeds from ripening their seeds in the same. With a view to
prevent this, it will be found helpful in many instances to run the
mower over the field some time after the clover has begun to grow freely
in the late spring or early summer. Such clipping will also have the
effect of securing more uniformity in the ripening of the seed.
The seed may be threshed in much the same way as other clover seed. (See
page 107.) The yields per acre should run from 3 to 8 bushels. It weighs
20 pounds per bushel.
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RenewingPrevious:
Harvesting For Hay
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