Monday, 7 November 2005
2

Evaluating White Clover Cultivars in North Carolina.

Renee White and James T. Green Jr. North Carolina State University, 100 Derieux Place, Campus Box 7620, Raleigh, NC 27695

White Clover (Trifolium repens L.) is a very important legume grown in pastures of the USA. Nine cultivars of white clover (Colt, Destiny, Prestige, California, La-S1, Destiny, Will, Regal, Durana, Patriot) were planted into a closely grazed sward of Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Poa pratensis L., Paspalum dilatatum Poir., and Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop. in the spring of 2002 (Waynesville, NC) and 2003 (Raleigh, NC). The experimental design was completely randomized with four or five replications. Plots have been grazed 3-5 times per year and clipped or mowed for hay two to three times per year with the goal of keeping the grass from shading the clover plants. Flowers (number m-2) were counted in May 2004 and 2005 at the Raleigh location. Colt, Destiny and Durana tended to have the highest number, averaging about 150-180 heads m-2 in 2004 and 350 to 390 in 2005. In Waynesville there were no significant differences but Destiny and Patriot tended to have about 20 % more flowers than other cultivars. Eye estimates of ground cover revealed a relatively wide range among cultivars, but no significant differences. In general the cultivars Colt, Prestige, Durana and Patriot scored well over the years, but none were consistently better than the others. The nine cultivars provide a range of morphological variation, and the selection by a manager should be related to the level of grazing management that will be exercised. For example, Colt is a small leaf type that will persist, but not be extremely productive under lax grazing pressure.

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