LOCATION: North Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, Holly Springs

Five years of comparing three alfalfa varieties under a combination rotational grazing and hay production system were completed. Two 40-cow groups of lactating dairy cows were used to graze Apollo Supreme, Alfagraze and Cimarron alfalfa varieties planted in 1 ac paddocks, in rotation, with each variety replicated 4 times. Paddocks were grazed in rotation when weather conditions permitted. When moisture conditions prevented grazing and plant maturity reached 30 days each paddock was harvested for stored forage. Each variety was intensively grazed and harvested for hay equally.

After five full years of production, plant populations/sq ft for Apollo Supreme were reduced from 21.5 plants/sq ft at planting to 1.31. Alfagraze was reduced from 17.25 to 1.67 and Cimarron from 20.75 o 1.23. Average tons of dry matter/ac for the first four years for Apollo Supreme, Alfagraze and Cimarron were 7.13, 7.30 and 7.40, respectively.

Average percent crude protein taken from 7 cutting dates and four replicates/variety resulted in no difference between varieties with Apollo Supreme, Alfagraze and Cimarron averaging 18.73, 18.84 and 18.91, respectively.