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Little River, TX | An Idle mind is dangerous. After the flooding yesterday I am still forced to remain idle.
Got to thinking about some comments from the West, like Oregon, about the advantages of a alfalfa & potato rotation.
As I understand it, potatoes are much like alfalfa in that they use as much potash as they do nitrogen, producing a crop. In some ways much like an alfalfa & cotton rotation as praqcticed in the San Jauquine Valley.
There is research data from the SJV telling us those crops now respond to potash fertilizer, even though the soil test does not indicate a K deficiency.
I gather the years and years of high yield alfalfa as well as high yield cotton has lowered the soils ability to supply the needed large amount of potassium these crops require. With Cotton it is fairly obvious with the leaves becoming a light bronze color. The potassium deficiency was confirmed by tissue analysis of both alfalfa & cotton, but primarily with the cotton.
Last paragraph, you all might keep an eye on your crop's potassium levels to preclude production losses due to K deficiency. It is my understanding that alfalfa has maximum production with 2.50% to 2.80% K tissue test results. | |
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Alfalfa & Taters in rotation.
