I was out visiting a grower yesterday who was raking alfalfa for baling today. Pretty amazing given the amount of rain we have had this month. That is one benefit of the sandy soils in the southern portion of the state. The grower was making his fifth cutting and estimated that this cutting would produce as much as his first and second cutting combined. As the grower was getting ready to apply potassium fertilizer in the near future, the question came up as to how much potassium he should be applying. Keep in mind that forages can remove quite a bit of potassium. With the extra cuttings and yield boosts some growers are experiencing there may be a need to supply extra potassium fertilizer. Alfalfa and cool season grasses can remove 50 lbs of potash per ton of yield. NJAES Cooperative Extension Fact Sheet 014 "Nutrient Removal Values for Field and Forage Crops" may be useful in determing fertilizer application rates this fall.
Bill Bamka
