Description

Medicago sativa,
Alfalfa (Introduced)

Medium height, 2 – 3 ft. tall, long-lived, nitrogen-fixing, perennial legume. Adapted to all soil textures. Numerous varieties available, tailored to specific purposes and conditions. Very deep taproots. Easily established. Very productive, palatable, nutritious forage producer. With adequate moisture will produce well after cutting or grazing all growing season long. Only moderately grazing tolerant on rangeland. Extremely valuable for hay and pasture. Also used in seed mixtures for range, watershed, wildlife habitat improvement and mining reclamation. Plant fall or spring ¼ – ¾ inch deep. 210,000 seeds/lb.

Named Releases: There are many improved varieties developed for various uses, qualities and environmental conditions. Several commonly used in western range, wildland or pasture situations are, ‘Ladak’, ‘Ladak 65’, ‘Ladak Plus’, ‘Rambler’, ‘Nomad’, ‘Spreader Types’, ‘Travois’, ‘Ranger’ and others.

Many other varieties are available for western pasture and hay production.

USDA: Plant Profile | Fact Sheet