Persistence of clover in cut forage mixtures: importance of choosing the right cultivar.

摘要

In 4-year trials in the Belgian Ardennes, the performance was assessed of 11 cultivars of white clover [Trifolium repens] sown in May 1994 in mixture with perennial ryegrass [Lolium perenne] cv. Barenza and of 5 cultivars of red clover [T. pratense]in mixture with timothy [Phleum pratense] cv. Promesse. Dry matter (DM) yields varied significantly between species and cultivars. The red clover/timothy mixtures gave better yields than the white clover/perennial ryegrass mixtures in the first 2 years,while the reverse was true in the second 2 years, showing that white clover was more persistent. Recommendations are given of cultivars of both clover species.