Add Lime This Fall For Next Spring’s Alfalfa
Do you have problems establishing alfalfa? The solution might be to apply lime if your soil pH is low.
Every year, alfalfa growers ask me about slow growing seedlings. Invariably, I ask about their soil pH. Way too often, either they didn’t get a soil test or the test showed that the pH was so low that it is unlikely that alfalfa could grow well. But when I suggest adding lime next time before planting, they either add too little to do any good or they disregard the recommendation entirely.
Alfalfa grows best in soils with a neutral pH of about 7. When soils are acid, with a pH 6.2 or lower, alfalfa plants do not grow as well. At a low pH, alfalfa roots are less able to absorb nutrients from soil. And, the nodules on alfalfa roots that convert nitrogen from the air into nitrogen the plants can use have difficulty forming and working effectively in acid soils.
Most sandy, low organic matter soils, as well as heavier ground that has been tilled and fertilized with nitrogen for many years have become acid. These soils need lime to solve this problem. But some folks still resist liming even when their own soil pH is down as low as 5.5 or even below 5!
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