- CIRCULAR No. 79 (REVISED
MARCH, 1954
GRASS AND LEGUME
SEED CROPS h ALBERTA
PREPARED BY THE ALBERTA FORAGE CROPS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE 0Fl ALB|RTA':
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
PUBLISHED BY DIRECTION
£ o-
£0
CO
o
l-H
Eh
CO
I— (
03
W
H
O
o 2 _j <"
13 a>
' O) r-J
03 a>
3 Sh
O 4>
03 O 03
. a>
s
o
CJ cD
o .s
.3*3 « *
c
o
A to o ~
eq 3
2 >
. 02 o> 03
* kJ TS tO
3 43 S jm
o £ .2 bi
U co co
r-i CN CO
o
ft g
oo
SO n
-3 I
T3
<0
,Q
03
4)
03
+->
03
o . o
3 TS 3
4> .3
o " O 4j .„
co ^tf £
02
0) _
83
•3 »
3 .5
03 p,
Sh a)
2 °
2 4)
T 02 CD -h
C 4) H >!
o t
P i
"3 3
*• >>
£ -3
1-1 CD
03 4)
4) 03
O
O
03
IS CO
o
03 03
mo
* bO
o o
4> .5
5 -3
- 2 1 = s S
02 ? g
0 m 3 -3 be -
g cs o a> 2 g
W j £ 5} co w
0}
* I IP
-r3 B,
s a
Cfl 4> .
-3 02 O
CO ^>
4)
s
O
Sh
S3
02
<
2 J
02 ,-'
02 ft
ri 'H 41
O 03
h «
S t£> £ -o 3
O J) £
m !h 02 *j
b3 +j
0) bo
^2 3
"3 0
<
-)_>
3 02
o ^
bo
§ a
02
c3
-, 4)
ft -
3 03
to .2
- T3
3 (C
4) ,3
Sh bO
42 r-(
ft O
T3
4> a)
> >
3 a
-1 O
3
>;| si
o
h-1
.s §
O
O
bo
CO
CO
<
03
Q O
M H
Eh <
co W
H S3
03 ^
-o 02 g
4>
3
s I
■-■ 02
4> ?
.3 O
0 T.
bo
bo 02
fe 3 C
* 2 ° ■« 2
P 3 H 3 w
4> S
M = ^ <2
-12 3 — J)
3 0 8
gj « .13
O 43 CD O
^ 3 w ^
3
03
h3
3
o
O
bo
-3
43
02 4;
ft
43
03 CJ
X2 CS
— ft
.ii 4>
£
U
U
43
^3
S3
4) ^
O
-2
O fL,
03
c3 . 03 5
< £ 0 £
03 03 o
4)
ft
>} >>
43 bo
> 43 bxj .
o
g C 3
s ^ T3 cS
CN IT1 . ^0 — r
^ "3 "to £ ~
2 * 3 ^
co £ £ 3i
4)
02
"3 d
«-i o .
_ <-h 02
43 02
43 3 OS
O1 fH
3
T3
43
03
to u
6
4)
02
3 «
" 02
fc. 03
2 g
o ^
CL 3
03
-3
-
3
■3 cj
CO CO U
03 .2 ft
S O 4)
03 3
id ^ >h^
in "3 T3 3
. U 4> oi
K if. SI S
o
oj
5
2 >>
'£ "3
S S
Sh *^
03
ft bo
3
4) "ft
£ 4) rj
3 j)
Sh
* £
CO 3
S3
Eh
O
s
03
3
2
£
O
o
-a
CO
£ M
c3 4.
O 03
03 ^ 3
»- .
ti T3 33 ii ^
** o:
— c^
CO ~
oi 3
4, .a
. . bo
hO 3
• £3 C
v 3 _H
O 3 CO
fi^ s
T3 to « .
S h S3 S
3^ £ £
u p <; c
§3 I
H ^ CO
03 r™1 CO
ft CN ,
£ ^ «
10 'S 4>
, Sh
o o
k w a)
-3
03
bO 03 •
3 *j 2
C O w cS
n — *h J<
.2 3 4) 33
H-> Sh ^3 Oj
03 ft O
. 4)
^ bo «
«3
03 "2
03
3
03
^ ^ C3 5
OS ^H
«H ^H
3 cS
3
CD
fe 02
43 h-j
ft O 02
•o £ £
03 43
1 — 03
b£ ft o:
C 43 S-
O 4) 03
^ Sh O
M O CJ
cS
— <
Pa^/e Eight
C5
g
H
03
P3
cd
03
-3
3
u *
° -3
3
02
Z g
T} O
■g CD .
P > fl
« t> -2
1 »s
3 . 3
"5 o °
Ph <2 a
bX)
.2
CD
o
Sh
Cd
. -i->
r-> 02
SI
•3
CD CD
Ti 9
M
ft -3
02
,3 +J _ -3
3
o
M
cd
Sh
ft
a
10 K B g
TO ^, 3 3 J
pq £ Ph pj m a
ffl O ■* H
in
-3
3
ft O
o
Sh
cd
& ft
S cd
bJD
3
o 33
J -3
oi cd
02^
CD
■rH
4->
CD >,
V, V
^ ,3
■3
CD Sh
£ a
CD .3
s
a
<
si c
IS
Sh
-t->
02
02 £
. CO
CD Sh
c ,2
is
o o
O U
,Q Sh
« ,3 03"
co f bD.g
03 bl) S
CD .g H
■° * s
« - £ *
£ 03
!J CD
O (D
O CD
Pi
CD CO
3
c 2
>> '>>
co _,
S CD
CD w
P5 O
b£ o
.5 02
U CD
co >
PI
CD CO
Pi
$ 2 § ^
t3
03
CD
i*
be
Sift
Pi
co
co
. o
■ • r° ft
tC fu M
O C
' CP
g a e to jS g b 9
s ft
■-1 CD
CD
-73
co
PI .2
03 CD
CO CD
ft 03
bC 13
PI u
3
3
O
o
O O S3
03 S M 02 !h
ft'g
o
CO
02
CO
id rf
cd
s
e ™
S
'cd
^ s
CD O
J3 be
® 03
t3 a
cd t3 bo
3
« 5s
S3 _g
CD «
fn ° U
S S3 ^
ft *h -t->
1 S_i >^
Sh
O
£3
03
ft CD Cu
cd « cS
4- ft +J
O
u
Cj
Sh
O 03
CD Cd 03
Sh . Cd
O g CD
S ft 6
3
o
o <
3
Sh i
ft :
>»
CD
3
o •
5 i
03 CD
CD
CD
Sh be -3
Cd -rn CD
3 Ph -3
cB
o v
o D2 w
O P W rH
Pills
£ J Pu 03
03
t — J
ft
CD
■
CO
CD
Sh
H-l
1
d
>
2
o
3
O
-u
o
o
O
3
03
3
1— i
bo
73 Sh I
-3
CD
-3
O
o
o
o
03 13
03' 3 CD
= |3 S
o cd o
03 02
2 cd •■-h cd
OrO S 10
■a a U
.H o 3
Sou
S3 cd
u *j *
- 2 Sh
3 cd
ft
-3
CD
>
ft CD 2
* 73 *
+j ft 03
H
rH
03
3 C
a
Sh ^
cd y) 3
0) fe
3 - b
-rt u u
03 bJD
3 ^3
o
cd
K
CD
bJD Sh
CD
03 -g
CD
Sh
cd
03 .
ft T3
O CD
CD
CD
02
02 o
CO o
SU CD
Sh o
Sh
ft 60
cd
4-> ^-1
"3
3 »3
3 Sh
CD cd
pa
o
1-3
U
E-<
H
H
c72
Straight combining brome; special care must be taken to prevent spoilage of seed
in storage.
Photo — Beaverlodge Experimental Station.
fied so that the straw and chaff are
put in tight wagons. Later, this
material is rethreshed and con-
siderable seed saved.
The small size and light weight
of grass and legume seeds make
separation especially difficult.
There are times when the operator
must choose between considerable
loss of seed and a poorly cleaned
sample. A good rule is to save as
much seed as possible, and reclean
later. At normal price levels, a
few pounds of seed saved will pay
for a lot of cleaning.
CLEANING THE MACHINE
Thorough cleaning of machines
and racks is extremely important.
It takes only two sweet clover
seeds in one ounce of another
registered legume seed crop to
spoil it for registration. When
cleaning the threshing machine,
pay special attention to the augers.
They can hold large quantities of
seed that may mix with the next
lot threshed.
COMBINE SETTINGS
It is suggested that growers fol-
low the settings recommended by
the manufacturer for any specific
combine. Machine specialists
point out that cylinder speed is
not as important as the perifery
speed of the cylinder. As the peri-
fery speed depends on the cylinder
diameter, and as the cylinder
diameter of different makes of
combines is not the same, it is
readily seen that cylinder speeds
vary greatly.
SEED STORAGE
With the greater amount of
direct combining that is now being
done, serious losses from seed
heating in storage are more fre-
quent. Seed should be stored
where it can be examined daily.
Page Ten
There should be free air circula-
tion around the seed. A good
method is to sack the seed and
stand the sacks separately in a
machine shed or other large build-
ing. Safer still, seed may be
spread out on the granary floor
and turned once or twice a day.
Spoilage can be cut down by put-
ting the seed over the fanning mill
to remove green material.
Seed should be stored only in
clean, tight granaries and sacks.
Contamination of clean seed when
it is almost ready for market is
costly,
Mice often cause damage to
stored seeds. There are a number
of practices that will curb this loss.
The rat poison, "Warfarin", is
effective against mice, and filled
bait containers set about the stor-
age area will usually solve the
problem. Lime, sulphur and salt
mixture, sprinkled under and
around sacks of seed, will act as a
repellant.
SEED CLEANING
It is almost impossible with
average farm equipment to clean
grass and legume seeds to a recog-
nized seed grade. The best way is
to attempt only rough cleaning on
the farm. For final cleaning and
grading, the seed can be shipped
to one of the commercial concerns
operating an efficient, well equip-
ped plant. A few pounds of seed
saved in this way, with the pos-
sibility of a higher grade, will
easily pay shipping and cleaning
costs.
POLLINATING INSECTS
Commercial seed production of
alfalfa, alsike and red clover de-
pends upon the activity of pollinat-
ing insects. Bees are by far the
most important pollinators of le-
gume flowers.
CLOVERS
Honey bees are effective in pol-
linating the clovers, and seed
yields can be increased through
the placement of honey bee
Page Eleven
colonies on the field during bloom-
ing time. One hive or more per
acre can be used; honey yields per
hive will probably be lower with
more hives per acre. However,
profitable seed increase could
probably be realized with up to
three hives per acre.
In years when wild bee popula-
tions are high, honey bees will not
be so effective in raising seed
yields.
Red clover blossoms are more
difficult for the bees to work than
are alsike and sweet clover flow-
ers. Consequently, red clover
fields should be as far away as
possible from these competing
crops.
ALFALFA
Alfalfa seed yields in Alberta
have not been increased through
the use of honey bees, as the al-
falfa flowers are difficult for honey
bees to "trip". There are many
other flowers that honey bees have
less difficulty in working.
Wild bees are necessary for
satisfactory seed yields of alfalfa.
A number of species of leaf cutter
and bumble bee are important trip-
pers of alfalfa. The numbers of
these bees fluctuate widely from
year to year. In years when they
are numerous, alfalfa usually sets
seed readily.
Mechanical tripping devices,
chemical tripping sprays, log
chains, stone boats and barbed
wire, dragged over alfalfa fields,
can do no good, and will only in-
jure the growth. The slightest in-
jury to the flower causes it to wilt
and drop. For the present, the job
must be left to the wild bees.
CONDITIONS SUITABLE TO
WILD BEES
Leaf cutter bees nest in old logs,
hard places in the ground, and in
native sod. Some species of bum-
ble bee nest above ground and
others below ground. In both cases,
breaking up of the soil and clear-
ing the brush destroys many nest-
ing sites available to the bees, and
a reduction in population is bound
to occur. A small field that is pro-
ducing seed abundantly should be
left small. Enlarging of the field
will only destroy the nests of the
bees, and a lower bee population
will result. There will be fewer
bees to work more alfalfa, and
yields will, of course, drop. Mice
are predators of bees, and any
practice that will reduce mouse in-
festation will aid in the establish-
ment of wild bees.
Insects Causing Losses in
Forage Seed Production
LYGUS BUG
Adult lygus bug.
Photo — Dr. G. A. Hobbs. Science Service,
Lethbridge
DESCRIPTION
Adults 3/16" long, about one-
half as wide. Color varies from
pale green to reddish or dark
brown. This insect goes through
five stages before becoming an
adult. The adult has a half dia-
mond mark on the back, which
makes it easily identified. The
Page Twelve
smaller green "nymphs", as the
young are called, have five black
spots located on the back.
DAMAGE
The bugs feed on the plant juice
in the buds, flowers and developing
seeds of alfalfa. No reports have
been made of damage in alsike and
Altaswede clover, but ladino clover
is subject to damage, so it can be
surmised that they may also cause
seed loss in alsike and Altaswede
crops. The insect-damaged buds
and flowers soon die and drop to
the ground. The injured seed dies,
and at harvest time the resulting
dry, shrivelled seed is often seen.
With a high population of these
insects, seed yields can be reduced
considerably. Workers in Utah
have reported that they increased
seed yields in one field from
twenty-two pounds per acre to one
hundred and sixty pounds per acre
by controlling lygus bugs. The life
cycle of this pest is completed in
six to seven weeks; consequently,
it should not reach such high num-
bers in Alberta as in the United
States seed producing areas, where
the growing season is much longer
and two or three generations may
be produced before alfalfa flower-
ing takes place.
CHECKING FOR LYGUS BUGS
Fields should be checked for ly-
gus bugs, one, two and three weeks
before the major flowering period.
In order to determine if lygus
bugs are present in the field, it is
necessary to take a sweep with a
standard 15" insect net. A white
sack, held open by a wire loop 15"
across, will work satisfactorily. A
sweep with the net is accomplished
by swinging the net at arms'
length, through the top growth of
the vegetation, through a 180 de-
gree arc. Stand facing south with
the net in the right hand pointing
west. Now, with the net well down
in the growth, hold the arm stiff.
Turn and face north. Count the
number of lygus and nymphs
caught in the sweep. Turn the net
inside out so lygus captured will
not be counted again. Move ten or
twenty feet away and repeat.
Carry out ten or twenty such
sweeps, keeping track of the total
number of lygus captured; divide
the total number of lygus caught
by the number of sweeps. This is
the average number of lygus per
sweep. If at any time an average
of four lygus or more per sweep
is obtained, it will usually pay to
employ control measures.
CONTROL
Spraying or dusting with D.D.T.
will control lygus bugs during the
pre-bloom period, but D.D.T.
should not be used during the
bloom period because the pollinat-
ing insects will also be killed. Tox-
aphene dust or spray, applied be-
tween seven in the evening and
seven o'clock in the morning, is
recommended for the bloom period.
Applying between these hours will
kill fewer bees.
D.D.T. should be applied at the
following rates :
As a spray, % to pounds of
actual D.D.T. per acre in a water
emulsion spray.
As a dust, 15 to 20 pounds of
10% D.D.T. per acre should be
applied.
Toxaphene is the only chemical
that should be applied in the
flowering stage. The following
rates are recommended :
iy2 pounds actual Toxaphene
per acre in a water emulsion, or 20
pounds of 10% Toxaphene dust
per acre.
If the lygus population has been
exceedingly high, burn the alfalfa
stubble the following spring before
plants start to grow.
Page Thirteen
GRASSHOPPERS
These pests can be controlled
with Toxaphene at the same rates
as used for lygus control. Aldrin
and Chlordane are also effective
in grasshopper control. These in-
secticides should be used as fol-
lows :
2 to 3 ounces of technical Aldrin
per acre, or 8 ounces of technical
Chlordane per acre; both in spray
form. With dusts, use one and a
half to twice as much per acre.
In cases of very heavy infesta-
tion, the above rates can be
doubled or tripled.
SWEET CLOVER WEEVIL
Adult sweet clover weevil.
Photo — Dr. G. A. Hobbs, Science Service,
Lethbridge
DESCRIPTION
The adult weevil is small, dark
grey, about 3/16 inch long. It has
a long snout, which aids in identifi-
cation. When approached, these
weevils drop from the foliage and
remain still, consequently, they
can easily escape notice.
DAMAGE
The adult weevil is responsible
for the major part of the damage
to the sweet clover plant. This
damage is very characteristic,
crescent-shaped pieces being eaten
out of the leaves. In severe infes-
tations, the plants may be stripped
of all leaf surface, and the outer
bark of the stem chewed. These
weevils prefer sweet clover, but
will eat alfalfa if sweet clover is
not available. Sweet clover field
margins usually show the severest
damage, because the beetles mi-
grate from second-year stands to
new plantings.
CULTURAL CONTROL
Crop rotation, using crops un-
attractive to the weevil, such as
the cereals and grasses.
New plantings should be located
a good distance from second-year
stands of sweet clover. In the fall,
plough down marginal strip of de-
foliated sweet clover to a depth of
six inches. This will bury many
bugs which would over-winter. The
following spring, this can be sown
to a cereal crop.
The most effective means of con-
trol is through shallow cultivation
of sweet clover hay fields immedi-
ately after cutting in July. This,
of course, is impossible in fields
left for seed, but if damage is
severe, the pest will have to be
controlled with chemicals. After
the seed has been harvested, if
weevils have done damage, the
field should be ploughed to bury
the insects.
CHEMICAL CONTROL
The most effective time for
spraying or dusting is in the spring
just after the plants have started
to grow the second year. This will
kill most of the weevils and pre-
vent them from laying eggs.
D.D.T., Chlordane and Toxa-
phene have been found to be effec-
tive. Aldrin should also be effec-
tive. It is much more toxic than
the other three chemicals, and
should be handled with greater
care.
Pa