Effects of pre-treatment, renovation procedure and cultivar on the growth of white clover sown into a permanent pasture under both grazing and mowing regimes

P. J. Muto and R. C. Martin

Abstract
White clover (Trifolium repens) is a valuable pasture component which is frequently present in insufficient quantity for optimal animal nutrition. Several methods were investigated of re-introducing white clover into a permanent forage stand without conventional tillage. Three seeders, Hunter, Vredo, and a conventional seed drill; two white clover cultivars, Sacramento, and Sonja; two pasture pre-treatments, a hard spring grazing, or grazing plus light harrowing; and two defoliation regimes, grazing, or mowing; were used to determine optimal seedling establishment conditions. Defoliation treatments were used to determine appropriate methodology for investigating pasture improvement experiments. Measurements were taken to determine percentage white clover and overall yield.

Hunter-renovated plots had the highest white clover content in the months immediately following renovation. Pre-treatment method appeared to have no significant effect on yield or species composition. The percentage white clover in Sacramento plots was frequently higher than that in Sonja plots, but overall, yields of cultivars were not different.

Mowed plots yielded higher and tended towards a greater white clover content than grazed plots. Compaction of the surface 10 cm in the grazed plots may have been a factor in the observed yield difference. Regardless of management, within two years white clover content became similar among all treatments, including controls.


Source
Grass and Forage Science (1999) 55:59 - 68


Author Locations and Affiliations
Department of Plant Science, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada


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