Bag of Alfalfa Seed

Vol · Apr 5, 2012

I sowed RR Alfalfa Tuesday and as I was closely inspecting one of the empty bags today I came across these facts off of the label.

This RR Genuity seed originated from either Wyoming, Montana, or Utah.

The seed was 34% coating and 66% live seed.

The germination rate was surprisingly low at 80%.

So, in a 50 pound bag of Alfalfa seed, you are only actually getting 33 1/3 pounds of seed and 16 2/3 pounds of seed coating......and if only 80% of the 33 1/3 pounds germinate, you are actually buying 26.66 pounds of good germinating seed in a 50 pound bag. This sounds like Washington D.C. business practices. As they like to say in the Northeast....Go figure.

Regards, Mike

OK Wheat farmer · Apr 5, 2012

I knew they recomended increasing the seeding rate but I didn't know it was that low. I never read the bag on either. How does it compare with conventional?

shortrow · Apr 6, 2012

How about the price, and the agreement you've got to sign? Just hope it's all worth it.

OK Wheat farmer · Apr 6, 2012

shortrow said:
How about the price, and the agreement you've got to sign? Just hope it's all worth it.

We got our hands on RR seed last time it was on the market. It was overall well worth any headaches. Seeding cost was a bit higher but the chemical savings have far outweighed it.

prairie · Apr 6, 2012

Much of the RR seed is old, and has been in storage for several years.
Most alfalfa seed maintains its germination well for several years when properly stored. But I have been told, that as the seed ages, seedling vigor can decrease dramatically.
It is a common practice to "down tag" germination, so I am willing to bet that the actual germination was at least 3-5% higher than on the tag.

CockrellHillFarms · Apr 6, 2012

RR is well worth the investment. At at least a dollar more a square bale. It pays off rather quickly. If you have to replant for what ever reason. They should cover 50% of the cost. There is also an equation for the correct seeding rate that you should put down based on how much "live" seed you have.

swmnhay · Apr 7, 2012

prairie explained it well,just to add to that.

Monsanto says you can get by with less seed because no weeds or cover crop for compitition.There is actualy some non roundup seed in it and they want you to spray it to killl that off so it don't compete with the RR seed.

They must have extra seed they are offering a rebate on it now.

Vol · Apr 7, 2012

swmnhay said:
Monsanto says you can get by with less seed because no weeds or cover crop for compitition.There is actualy some non roundup seed in it and they want you to spray it to killl that off so it don't compete with the RR seed.

Yeah, Monsanto says that up to 10% of the seed may not have the RR trait and that it should be eliminated by glyphosate when the germinated seed is at the 3-4 tri-foliate stage so that the RR plants can " fill in" where the non-RR plants were eliminated. I liked the rebate.

Regards, Mike

Bag of Alfalfa Seed

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