DRYING RATE OF ALFALFA IN A PROTECTIVE STRUCTURE.

Drying alfalfa in a protected environment was studied as an innovative method of haymaking. The data were regressed to find the best linear and nonlinear equations for predicting the thin layer drying constant as a function of weather conditions and swath density. The best prediction equation had an r**2 value of 90. 4% and was a modification of a nonlinear equation developed by C. A. Rotz and Y. Chen. This model was then used with Typical Meteorological Year data from eight sites in the U. S. to predict the number of days in a season within which hay would dry in 24 h. The 1. 51 kg/m**2 swath density could be dried in 24 h during 70. 4% of the season days when averaged for the eight sites modeled.