OilfieldCows - 10/9/2024 15:00

Autotoxicity in alfalfa. I think I can see it at work in my older hay fields. I have 1 old plant of alfalfa surrounded by grass for approximately better than 1 foot around the plant and the field is consistently in this condition although in some areas there is no alfalfa at all.
I have tried inter seeding in past years and the new plants showed up nicely.............then disappeared. I waisted my time and resources I now know.
2 questions.
1. Why do these old plants produce seed if it's not allowed to grow? Or is it possible that seed from the original plant will actually grow in the affected area. I know, it isn't happening, it's not reseeding its self so I may know the last part of this question.
2. If I were able to break up the root of this existing plant without killing it will another plant grow from the pieces of broken root??