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[swmnhay]

Does anyone else plant Standfast alfalfa?http://www.alfalfatechnology.com/index.htmlI have a couple varieties seeded in 09.Producers Choice varieties PGI 459 /with Standfast fast growth.PGI 431/with Standfast standibility.

http://www.producerschoiceseed.com/p...59Alfalfa.html

http://www.producerschoiceseed.com/p...37Alfalfa.html

[hay wilson in TX]

Look at the insect resistance in the companies sales instrument. Their disease resistance is god but the aphid resistance is not what we need, at least here in the CenTex. Here we really want HR for the Pea Aphid and at least R for the spotted Alfalfa aphid. We. would like a MR rating for the blue aphid, just in case.

The resistance chard did not transfere. Sorry about that.


Much the same could be said for WL 363 HQ. They report all HR levels for all the diseases and report HR foir Aphids, plural. Checking the listing put out by Alfalfa.org and there is no resistance for the Spotted Alfalfa Aphid or the blue aphid. If the 363 had a HR rating for the other two aphids it would have been a sale. The WL brand has listed two other FD 4 varieties with better aphid resistance. They score higher in my scoring than the 363.
Not saying the 363 is a bad varieties only it falls in the lower quarter of my acceptable range while their other two varieties score in the upper half of my acceptable range.

The PGI varities do not score well enough to be considered acceptable, for my presumed pest pressures.

Here FD 3 alfalfas do just as well as FD 8 alfalfas. If I could get a FD 9 with the pestg resistance.it would be my alfalfa of choice.

There is always a tradeoff when it comes to seed selection.

[swmnhay]

I was more interested in the Standfast technology.The faster growth rate to cut 3-5 days off of harvest cycle for 4 or more cuttings.And the Standfast standibility trait to prevent lodging.

[haytimer]

Originally Posted by swmnhay

Does anyone else plant Standfast alfalfa?http://www.alfalfatechnology.com/index.htmlI have a couple varieties seeded in 09.Producers Choice varieties PGI 459 /with Standfast fast growth.PGI 431/with Standfast standibility.

PGI 459 Alfalfa

PGI 437 Alfalfa

sw,was you able to tell any difference with your 09 planted varieties or was it to early yet?

[swmnhay]

Originally Posted by haytimer

sw,was you able to tell any difference with your 09 planted varieties or was it to early yet?

To early yet.I had it under a annual rygrass cover crop.

Here is some info Alfalfa Technology - Management

[mtrancher1]

Yes standfast alfalfas are the only kind of alfalfa I plant. They have turned me from a two cut system into a three cut system. I live in high elevation in Montana and its pretty impressive to get three cuts here. I am sold on it and I planted 120 more acres of it last spring. I get all my seed from Kussmaul seeds in Wisconsin and the variety I use is Sustain W. It grows incredibly fast especially after you cut it, usually has three inches regrowth by the time you bale it. I have also had it tested and Sustain W always tests better than the others. Hope this helps.