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Re: QUESTION: Alfalfa buried by silt
About 20 years ago we had a widespread flood in southwestern NY valleys.
Lots of alfalfa covered by silt. Thinly covered stuff (1 inch or so) came
through OK, after several rains washed off some of the mud. But the forage
was gritty and dirty through the rest of the season. Miserable to
handle, chop, bale, or anything. Fields with deeper cover struggled and did
poorly. Maybe you can get some recovery at 2 inches. But my memory is that
not much came back from deeper covering. Most farmers plowed up this stuff
and started over. The silt can be miserable stuff when wet, and worse when
it dries. Winds pick it up and blow it into your eyes, nose, and into
tractor and other motor air intakes. The silt itself can be a bigger
problem than the lost alfalfa. I guess it helps the soil in the long run,
since many of thse same valley soils were derived from silt flooding. But
it's no fun when it happens. Bill Pardee wdp5@cornell.edu
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