The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station
established an official alfalfa performance testing
program in 1980 to provide Kansas growers with
unbiased performance comparisons on alfalfa
varieties marketed in the state. Each year, private
companies are asked to enter varieties voluntarily
at the locations slated for establishment that year. Descriptive information is presented with the results for each test. This information, including soil type,
establishment methods, fertilization, pest control, irrigation,
harvest dates, and growing conditions unique to that
location, can help explain test and/or variety performance. Forage yields were estimated by harvesting four replications
of each variety with a plot harvester.
