Brookside Agra reported higher feed quality in alfalfa treated with all-natural H2OExcel™ water conservation agent in a recent Illinois field trial.
According to the results, alfalfa treated with H2OExcel during the field trial exhibited the following results compared to the untreated alfalfa:
- An increased yield of 2.2 tons and an additional cutting.
- A 6.5% decrease in the Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), resulting in increased palatability for the animal.
- An 8.5 % increase in the Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), generally resulting in a decrease in dry matter intake.
- An 11% increase in the Relative Feed Value (RFV).
- A 15% increase in protein levels.
The 2015 field trial was conducted in Washington County, Illinois on a 40-acre (20 acres treated, 20 acres not treated) alfalfa dry land production area. One quart of H2OExcel was applied to the treated alfalfa per acre at green-up, then 1-pint per acre after each cutting. The study results were compared to the production area’s 2014 yield, which was not treated with H2OExcel.
“We harvested a much higher quality crop and I point specifically to the effects of being able to better manage the increased rains from mid-summer 2015,” said Brookside Agra plant and soil expert Ben Elliott. “I noticed that the disease pressure was moderately reduced, while the inputs were not changed, with the exception of adding H2OExcel to the program. We were impressed with the positive results H2OExcel had on the alfalfa’s overall forage quality improvements. And because H2OExcel is all-natural, producers can feel safe about feeding alfalfa or any other forage treated with H2OExcel to their animals.”
Developed by Brookside Agra, H2OExcel is a proprietary blend of desert plant extracts and high-quality, humic acid-containing biologicals and other all-natural, non-plant derived nutrient enhancers. H2OExcel is highly efficient and can change the polarity of water and soil, increase biological activity, interact with soil capillarity pressure and defend against dehydration of both the soil and the plants by keeping water available deeper in the soil profile. H2OExcel has been scientifically proven in university studies to reduce water usage by 30-50%, lower costs to maintain vegetation, increase plant strength and reduce crop failure.
Listed on the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list approved by the FDA and AAFCO, H2OExcel will not harm plants, animals or humans and is safe to blend with fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. H2OExcel can be used as a spray mixture or used in an injection/irrigation system on plants, crops or turf.
Summary:
This is a production system that has both irrigated and dry land Alfalfa. This study is on the dry land production area. All factors considered there is great improvement of the crop where H2OExcel was added. Lowering the ADF (Acid Detergent Fiber) was a main goal in order to increase palatability to the animals. Increasing the NDF (Neutral Detergent Fiber) was not necessarily a goal but a very positive result.
The feed quality was affected as seen with the increase in Protein levels and RFV(Relative Feed Value). We harvested a much higher quality crop and I point specifically to the effects of being able to better manage the increased rains from mid-summer 2015. The disease pressure was moderately reduced and inputs were not changed with the exception of adding H2OExcel to the program.