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A High-Performing Alfalfa Seed for All Growing Conditions

There are a number of factors a grower must consider when selecting the ideal alfalfa seed. Chief among them are yield ability, dormancy type and heartiness, specifically, the plant’s resistance to a myriad of potential disease and pest issues. For a segment of the grower population, though, another critical factor plays into their decision-making paradigm – salt tolerance.

Throughout segments of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, soil with extremely high salt content is a serious challenge. Other segments of the world as well, including Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Mexico, also tackle the difficulty of growing quality hay in extreme conditions. Fortunately, a line of exceptionally salt-tolerant alfalfa seeds are available from S&W Seed Company to meet all the needs of alfalfa growers.

According to Bob Sheesley, S&W Seed Company plant breeder and production adviser, salt build-up, particularly in the Westside of California’s Central Valley, occurred over time as a result of a lack of drainage. Growers recognized the issue but felt restricted at how best to address the problem.

In 1991, after retiring from a thirty-plus-year career with the University of California Cooperative Extension service specializing in forage crops, namely alfalfa, Sheesley began working with S&W Seed Company on developing salt-tolerant varieties. At the time, the company was contracting with growers throughout the Central Valley and in Mendota, CA they provided Sheesley with their saltiest piece of ground to build the alfalfa nursery.

Sheesley began the long, exhaustive process of cross-pollinating the most salt-tolerant alfalfa plants. He teamed up with Dr. Steven Smith from the University of Arizona, Tucson, a renowned salt-tolerance expert, to painstakingly work through each generation of seed. Ultimately, Smith would end up returning only 10 percent of the samples Sheesley would send as the most viable in creating a seed that could withstand the highest salt thresholds and still have high yields.

After seven generations of work, S&W Seed Company now offers two commercial varieties of salt-tolerant alfalfa seed, with a third slated for release in 2010. SW 9720 is a 9-dormancy variety and the original seed created. As Sheesley points out, it took almost three years for growers to accept the viability of the seed, but once they did, it has become a major success for the company.

SW 9215 is also a 9-dormancy variety and averages 10 to 15 percent more salt tolerance than SW 9720. Sheesley is quick to note that in their quest for a salt-tolerant alfalfa seed, he and Smith did not ignore the need for yield performance as well as resistance to diseases and pests. According to Sheesley, in order for an alfalfa variety to become certified, it must have substantiated data that it has been tested for at least 6 major pests and diseases.

In the case of SW 9720 and SW 9215, along with the third, 8-dormancy variety due out next year, the seeds are tolerant of bacterial wilt, fusarium wilt, phytophthora root rot, pea aphid, spotted alfalfa aphid, blue alfalfa aphid, and root knot nematode.

Performance is also a factor and Sheesley has accounted for that as well. Yield tests are regularly conducted on all seeds using third-party sources. The University of California, Davis tests the alfalfa at the main campus, at the Kearney Station in the Central Valley, and at the Imperial Station in Holtville, CA. Performance tests are also conducted in Tucson, Arizona in conjunction with the University of Arizona.

From Sheesley perspective, S&W Seed Company has invested tremendous time, energy and resources into creating an alfalfa seed that meets warm temperature growing conditions. But he’s not the only one. Mark Grewal with Triangle T Ranch concurs with Sheesley’s sentiment and has good reason to be pleased with the product. His operation is growing 25 percent of S&W Seed Company’s entire salt-tolerant seed production.

There’s good reason for this, of course. While the product is exception, Triangle T Ranch is owned by the same parent company as S&W Seed Company. Grewal is quick to point out, though, that if the product was not exceptional, joint ownership would be a moot point.

“We’re running a highly diversified farming operation on 13,000 acres. The unique needs of that business means I must have an alfalfa variety that performs optimally under the harshest of conditions,” says Grewal.

Of that ranch, 5,000 acres are currently in hay. As Grewal notes, the microcosm that has been created at Triangle T is indicative of growing conditions all over the world. “The size and scope of our operation means we are limited in the types of practices we can implement,” says Grewal. In a nutshell, given the diversity of crops, the possibility of chemical drift is a major concern. As a result, the use of such products as Round-Up is nearly impossible, given the potential for cross-application.

To meet the challenge, Grewal needed hearty alfalfa seed that was resistant to the pests and diseases of the area, but could also perform well in the salt-laden soil of the southern Central Valley. He knew the work being conducted by Sheesley and Smith and turned to S&W Seed Company to meet his own needs. The results have been exceptional.

Grewal also points out that the strength of the salt-tolerant seed gives the company a marketing advantage in specific countries around the world. In places like Canada, the European Union and Saudi Arabia, planting crops that are genetically modified organisms isn’t an option or a preference.

The S&W Seed Company varieties are not Round-Up-Ready, but have been naturally bred for ultimate performance. As a result, a product exists that can meet this niche market demand and perform well.

“Ultimately, S&W has a great product,” notes Grewal. “Through ingenuity, good science and a commitment to quality, they have created an alfalfa seed that meets the demands of a select group of growers, ensuring that even in the harshest growing conditions, good alfalfa can be grown.”

For more information in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and Mexico contact S.C.A.L.E. Agricultural Service at 575-644-5440 or 575-382-1642; for all other locations nationwide visit www.swseedco.com or call 559-884-2535.