The frigid temperatures during the Easter weekend is causing all sorts of responses from alfalfa. In some fields there was little damage and the alfalfa seems to be almost normal. These fields mostly are in areas where the alfalfa had not grown much before the freeze. Other alfalfa fields are growing well but seem to be two or three weeks behind. The significant top growth in these fields was killed completely by the freeze. So the freeze acted like cutting the alfalfa and most regrowth came from new shoots arising from the crown.

The worst fields look very ragged with uneven, slowly developing regrowth. Some of these fields had considerable growth before the freeze but plants weren’t completely killed. So part of the plant continued growing as temperatures increased, part of the plant created new shoots arising from buds located on the stem, and some new shoots initiated regrowth from the crown. And none have been very successful.

Harvest of alfalfa that appears to be growing well probably should wait until plants first start to bloom to be sure they have fully recovered. This will likely occur later than normal this year.

When to harvest the ragged, uneven fields is a more difficult question. Growth won’t return to normal until after harvest. So an early harvest might turn things around quickly. But plants also are very weak so an early harvest could weaken them even more. My best guess – wait another ten days so plants will have had seven weeks to recover, then harvest no matter how ugly they look. Then hope for the best, but expect regrowth to be a bit slow.