Fall Harvest Effects on Alfalfa Root Total Nonstructural Carbohydrates and Percent Dry Matter

Fall harvest management effects on root total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC) and percent dry matter (%DM) of 'cimarron' alfalfa were studied to further explain the disparity between earlier studies which lead to the recommendation of a 4 to 6 week "resting" period for alfalfa in the fall and later studies which have shown harvesting alfalfa during this time has little or no effect on forage yield in subsequent years. Patterns of fall and winter TNC and %DM were observed and compared with forage yield in the following years.Agronom