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New alfalfa variety lowers lignin and extends harvest window

Mark McCaslin

A leading forage company says they’ve developed a genetically enhanced alfalfa trait that gives growers a longer harvest window and lower lignin levels.

Forage Genetics International vice president of research Mark McCaslin says their HarvXtra alfalfa variety modifies lignin content to improve fiber digestibility.

“Lignin is in itself indigestible, and it crosslinks with cellulose and hemicellulose, the major components in the cell wall, and makes them less digestible.  So as the plant matures, lignin content goes up and cell wall digestibility goes down.”

By reducing lignin content in alfalfa, McCaslin says it provides growers flexibility to produce higher quality forage, or delay harvest to maximize yield potential.

Southeast Minnesota dairy farmer Ben Daley grew 200 acres of HarvXtra alfalfa in 2016 and plans to expand that to three-quarters of his hay production by next year.

“All farmers know that you have to play with Mother Nature, so (HarvXtra) gives us the leeway to go look at the weather report to see if we can (harvest) when we want to, or wait and find a better window to make it happen.”

The HarvXtra launch was limited to the Midwest a year ago, and McCaslin says Forage Genetics is now distributing the alfalfa through various seed companies across the country.

Brownfield interviewed McCaslin and Daley during a Forage Genetics field day at their headquarters in West Salem, Wisconsin Tuesday.

 

*Data comes from FGI trials comparing HarvXtra® Alfalfa with Roundup Ready Technology 2017 FD4 commercial varieties to FD4 commercial checks. Trials were seeded in 2013 and harvested in 2014 and 2015 in Nampa, ID; Touchet, WA; Boone, IA; West Salem, WI; and Mt. Joy, PA. Yield increase is directly correlated to the ability to delay harvest.

** Yield data comes from an FGI trial in West Salem, WI, comparing three cuttings at 35-day intervals to four cuttings at 28-day intervals, with the three-cut system averaging 30% more yield over the life of the stand. Trials were seeded in 2013 and harvested in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Yield increase is directly correlated to the ability to delay harvest.

 

Mark McCaslin audio:

 

 

Ben Daley audio:

 

 

 

 

 

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