So.... Alfalfa Growers. Is choosing an alfalfa variety important?
You betcha (as they say in Minnesota)...
You can view the varieties available in North America by downloading the new and revised National Alfalfa & Forage Alliance (NAFA) 2025 edition of its popular “Alfalfa Variety Ratings – Winter Survival, Fall Dormancy & Pest Resistant Ratings for Alfalfa Varieties” Also, you can order printed versions of this leaflet.
Guess What? It's Worth $$$$. We've calculated that the top yielding varieties in our trials can yield about 30% more than the lowest yielding varieties (see below graph)! This is worth thousands of dollars/acre. Even if the seed costs more, if yields are 5-30% higher, that's a very nice return on investment. For the University of California Variety results you can view them at https://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/variety-selection for Inter-mountain, desert, and Mediterranean zones.
Alfalfa Variety Trial, Tulelake, CA.
Pest Control Ratings. Don't forget about the pest resistance characteristics, of which there are many. Had any verticillium wilt or nematodes lately? Variety resistance is often the ONLY cost-effective tool available for some diseases and pests. You can view the pest control characteristics by downloading the 2025 edition of this valuable tool. NAFA's Alfalfa Variety Ratings is indispensable in providing an extensive listing of alfalfa varieties and their corresponding ratings for bacterial wilt, aphanomyces, aphids, stem nematode, leafhopper, and a host of other pests.
Other Traits. The publication also includes other important ratings such as winter survival, grazing tolerance and standability, salinity tolerance, and biotech traits such as Roundup Ready and HarvXtra. This provides the information you need to make educated, informed decisions about the alfalfa varieties which will perform best in a given environment. All varieties listed in the Alfalfa Variety Ratings publication can be purchased in the United States for the 2025 production year. A listing of Seed Marketers is provided.
These characteristics of 121 alfalfa varieties from 14 marketers have been verified with the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) and the National Alfalfa Variety Review Board (NAVRB).
Databases. If you'd prefer an electronic version, try NAFA's searchable, online Alfalfa Variety Ratings database where you can make the process of narrowing alfalfa varietal choices even easier. Available at alfalfa.org/varietyratings.php, NAFA's searchable database allows you to search for varieties using up to 23 different parameters such as variety name, marketer, fall dormancy, winter survival, disease resistance, and insect resistance. NAFA has made finding the perfect variety as effortless as possible.
NAFA's Alfalfa Variety Ratings publication is also available in the November issue of Hay & Forage Grower magazine or by visiting NAFA's website at alfalfa.org.
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