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Boron Fertilization of Irrigated Alfalfa in Montana

A boron (B) deficient soil may negatively impact irrigated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plant tissue sufficiency, thereby compromising yield and quality in a short-season environment such as Montana. The objective was to determine the impacts of B fertilization on irrigated alfalfa yield and quality in 2015 and 2016 at Creston and Dillon, MT on fine sandy loam and silt loam soils, respectively. The initial soil B levels at the Creston and Dillon sites were 0.2 and 0.8 ppm, respectively. The study was conducted as a randomized complete block design with five B levels: (1) 0; split applications of (2) 0.50, (3) 1.00, (4) 2.00; and a one-time application of (5) 2.00 lb/ac in four replications. Full doses of Treatment 5 and half the dose of Treatments 2–4 were applied in early spring at a 3-inch regrowth height. The other half dosage of Treatments 2–4 was re-applied at a 3-inch plant height after the first cutting. A liquid 10% B AgriSolutions was foliarapplied as B fertilizer. All the cuttings were performed at 10% bloom. Application of B increased (P < 0.05) plant B concentration at both locations. Boron fertilization increased (P < 0.05) crop yield for the second cutting in 2015 at Dillon but did not influence all of the other seasonal cuttings nor total yields for either year or location. No significant effect of B on forage quality was observed. This research suggests foliar B fertilization based on a low B soil test is not beneficial for irrigated alfalfa producers in Montana. A lfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a widely grown perennial forage crop because of its adaptability to varied environmental conditions (Iannucci et al., 2002). It is effective at fixing atmospheric nitrogen (Peterson and Russelle, 1991) and is known for its high dry matter yield and forage quality (Brown, 2004). It is a preferred forage for livestock as it has low fiber content (Balliette and Torell, 1993), is highly digestible (Rodiek, 2001), and has high protein (Higginbothan et al., 2008). In the U.S, alfalfa is grown on almost 17 million acres of cropland (USDA-NASS, 2017a). It is an important forage source for the livestock and dairy industries as many producers depend heavily on alfalfa as a mainstay crop. Additionally, the dairy and equine industries are continuing to expand their utilization of alfalfa hay (Putnam et al., 2000). To meet this increasing demand for alfalfa hay, growers can strategically apply the required fertilizer, along with other agronomic practices, to increase hay yield and quality (Mueller and Orloff, 1994). Boron is an essential micronutrient for plant growth and development (Dear and Weir, 2004). Boron deficiency impairs plant growth and reduces quantity and quality of crops (Sakamoto, 2012). Boron helps in the translocation of sugars, carbohydrate metabolism, Crop Forage Turfgrass Manage. 4:170085. doi:10.2134/cftm2017.11.0085 © 2018 American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America 5585 Guilford Rd., Madison, WI 53711 This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Published June 14, 2018