Now, according to Bruce Anderson, UNL Extension Forage Specialist, alfalfa varieties are marketed that resist these leafhoppers. Should you buy them? Lets look at it.
For several years, Anderson has discouraged using alfalfa varieties with potato leafhoppers resistance. His reasoning was that leafhoppers are a problem in our area only occasionally, the resistance level was too low to be worthwhile, resistant varieties yielded less when leafhoppers were not a problem and seed cost was much higher.
Now, Anderson’s recommendations have changed. New varieties have improved enough to make them worthwhile. The best varieties now have enough resistance to leafhoppers to make a big difference when leafhoppers are active. In fact, it takes about three times as many leafhoppers to make it worth spraying these varieties as it does susceptible varieties. Plus, the yield drag has been practically eliminated.
Seed prices still are a bit higher for these varieties, so be sure you buy them only if you frequently have problems with potato leafhoppers. In northwestern Nebraska, west of Highway 281 and north of Interstate 80, they are a problem only rarely. It is more likely that you will have frequent leafhopper invasions the further east and south your fields are of this area. The newer varieties with higher leafhopper resistance should be valuable to many alfalfa growers in this region especially growers who depend on alfalfa as a major source of your income. If that describes you, these varieties should be worth the cost.
