Studies with lucerne (Medicago sativa)—row distances and “smother” crops

1940 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. H. Garner ◽  
H. G. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Medicago Sativa ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Seed Rate ◽  
Weed Infestation ◽  
Harvest Year ◽  
The University

As a result of one detailed experiment and four demonstrations carried out on the University Farm at Cambridge the following conclusions can be drawn:1. Lucerne drilled at a constant seed rate per acre, in narrow rows (3½ and 7 in.), gave a greater yield per acre than when drilled in rows 10½ and 14 in. in width. Over a four-year period the yield of dry matter per acre from narrow rows was half a ton more than from wide rows. No evidence was obtained that weed infestation is reduced by narrow drilling.2. The broadcasting of 5 lb. of trefoil per acre at the time the lucerne was drilled had no effect on the total yield or on weed infestation.3. Wild white clover broadcast at the rate of 2 lb. per acre at the time of drilling the lucerne slightly reduced the yield of lucerne in the first harvest year, but subsequently it served to secure some control of weeds, and thereby favoured the persistence of the lucerne. Differences in yield associated with sowing wild white clover were, however, slight.4. Commercial cocksfoot broadcast at the rate of 10 lb. per acre at the time of drilling the lucerne led to very considerable increases in total yield (nearly 3 tons per acre of dry matter over a four-year period). The increments were obtained principally during the spring growth, and some loss of lucerne plants was suffered, so that in a very dry summer the total aftermath yield was slightly reduced. Since cocksfoot almost completely controlled weeds and its mixture with lucerne was very suitable for hay or for silage, it is regarded as a plant that may be included in a lucerne ley with advantage.

Establishment studies VI. The effect of method of establishment on long-term leys in the first harvest

1963 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
A. H. Charles
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crude Protein ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Weed Growth ◽  
Harvest Year

1. The method of establishment markedly affected the yield of red clover in the first harvest year, the highest yield being obtained when a cover crop was used, in the absence of which red clover yield was reduced by frequent grazing during establishment. White clover made little growth in the first harvest year; the yield was best without a cover crop under frequent grazing during establishment.2. Nitrogen applied in the seed bed did not affect the growth of red clover in the first harvest year, but depressed the white clover under infrequent defoliation without a cover crop. There was no significant effect under the other management.3. The total yield of red and white clovers was lower, when sown with the rapidly establishing ryegrass or ryegrass-dominant general-purpose mixtures, than with cocksfoot or timothy mixtures. Weed growth, although not prominent, was far greater in the timothy and cocksfoot swards than in those based on ryegrass.4. A close parallel existed between the growth of red clover and the dry matter and yield of crude protein. The highest figures were recorded when management during establishment had favoured the growth of the red clover.5. Nitrogen applied in the seed bed reduced the percentage of crude protein in all mixtures in the spring and autumn grazings, and in the hay crop of the first harvest year. Management which encouraged the growth of red clover increased the crude protein percentage of herbage in the spring and autumn, but depressed it in the aftermath cut.6. A number of interactions occurred when the relative yields of dry matter and crude protein of mixtures in the first harvest year were modified by treatments applied during establishment. There are significant indications that the method of establishment is a factor to be considered in evaluating various mixtures.

A comparison of silages made from red clover/grass, white clover/grass and high nitrogen grass swards for beef production

1985 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Stewart ◽  
I. I. McCullough
Keyword(s):  
Perennial Ryegrass ◽  
White Clover ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Dry Matter Yield ◽  
Grass Silage ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Grass Sward

ABSTRACTSilage cut twice annually (June and August) from a tetraploid red clover/grass sward and three times annually (May, July and September) from a low nitrogen (N) and high N perennial ryegrass/white clover sward was fed in proportion to dry-matter yield from each cut, over a 10-week period, each winter for 3 years to castrated male cattle of initial live weight 401 kg in year 1 and 425 kg in years 2 and 3. The silages were supplemented with 0, 1, 2 and 3 kg concentrate per head daily.Total dry-matter yield from the red clover/grass sward was similar to that from the perennial ryegrass/white clover sward (high N grass) receiving 360 kg N per ha but the digestibility, particularly of first cut material was much lower. Dry-matter production of the low N grass/white clover sward was 0·73 of high N grass sward and produced silages of similar digestibility and fermentation.Dry-matter intakes by the cattle were higher on the legume-based silages in years when clover made a worthwhile contribution to total yield, but this did not significantly improve utilization or animal performance compared with high N grass silage. Mean daily carcass gain per head on red clover/grass silage was 0·41 kg which was significantly less than the 0·61 kg on white clover/grass silage and 0·59 on high N grass (P < 0·001). Carcass output from red clover/grass silage was 618 kg/ha and 629 kg/ha from white clover/grass, both of which were significantly less than the 863 kg/ha from the high N grass silage (P < 0·001). Dressing proportion was also significantly poorer in animals fed red clover/grass silage compared with the other silage types.

Studies on the cutting management of grass-clover swards. III. The effects of prolonged close and lax cutting on herbage yields and quality

1962 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Reid
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Rest Period ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Rye Grass ◽  
Leaf Formation ◽  
Grass Sward ◽  
Strip Grazing

1. The effects of two heights of cutting—down to either 1 in. or 2–2½ in. from ground level—on herbage yields were studied for five seasons with a perennial rye-grass-white clover mixture and for three seasons with a timothy-white clover mixture. Superimposed on these height-of-cutting treatments were treatments simulating strip grazing with and without a back-fence, and also three fertilizer nitrogen treatments.2. Over the 5-year period the rye-grass mixture consistently gave greater dry-matter and crude-protein yields of herbage when cut to 1 in. than it did when cut to 2–2½ in. from ground level, the mean dry-matter yield difference being 34%. The decline in the total yield per season with increasing age of the grass sward was similar under both heights of cutting.3. The effects of the height-of-cutting treatments on the timothy mixture were similar to those noted on the rye-grass mixture in the first three seasons of the experiment, but in the third year the beneficial effects of close cutting were much reduced. It is suggested that this resulted from the rest period between cuts being insufficient for timothy to recover fully from the close defoliation.4. The effects of the height-of-cutting treatments on the botanical composition of the sward were slight, particularly on plots of the rye-grass mixture.5. Possible factors leading to the observed effects of the height-of-cutting treatments are discussed with reference to the results of other workers and to the results from a preliminary study of the differential effects of the treatments on stem and leaf formation in perennial rye-grass.6. A simulation of strip grazing with and without a back-fence showed that the herbage yields from both seeds mixtures under both height-of-cutting treatments were considerably reduced by the removal of the regrowth which could take place in the absence of a back-fence.7. The effects of delaying the first nitrogenoua fertilizer application of the season noted in an earlier experiment were fully confirmed in this experiment.

Shoot growth on lucerne plants cut at different heights

1970 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 583 ◽  
Author(s):  
GJ Leach
Keyword(s):  
Medicago Sativa ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Shoot Growth ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Extension Growth ◽  
Medicago Sativa L ◽  
Cutting Height ◽  
Two Stages

Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) plants grown to two stages of maturity were cut at 2, 5, or 10 cm above the crown. In addition, the leaf on the stubble and on basal shoots was either removed or retained. The change in the number and size of the regrowth shoots growing from different heights above the crown, and the total yield of dry matter, were observed for 4 weeks after cutting. Nearly all the regrowth shoots arose from very near to the crown, either on the crown itself or from within the first 2 cm above it, so that cutting at higher levels increased shoot numbers only slightly. Also most of the shoots arising from near the crown resumed extension growth earlier, and therefore grew larger, than the shoots arising from higher positions. In general the growth of shoots from one stubble segment was not influenced by whether segments were still present above. Increasing the cutting height above 2 cm consequently produced little effect on the yield of dry matter 2 and 4 weeks after cutting. Retaining stubble leaf and basal shoot leaf increased the shoot yield 2 and 4 weeks later, because the basal shoots resuming growth first grew larger than those on plants from which leaves were removed. The effect of retaining leaves was independent of the stage of maturity when the plants were cut and of the cutting height.

The influence of nitrogen and water on pastures of green panic, lucerne, and glycine at Lawes, South-eastern Queensland

1967 ◽  
Vol 7 (28) ◽  
pp. 441 ◽  
Author(s):  
FH Kleinschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Medicago Sativa ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilizer ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Panicum Maximum ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Supplementary Irrigation ◽  
Nitrogen Yields ◽  
Medicago Sativa L

The influence of nitrogen fertilizer and supplementary irrigation on pastures of green panic (Panicum maximum var. trichoglume K. Schum. Eyles), green panic plus Hunter River lucerne (Medicago sativa L.), and green panic plus Cooper glycine (Glycine javanica L.) was measured in an experiment at Lawes, south-eastern Queensland. The yield of green panic increased and the yield of the legumes decreased when nitrogen fertilizer was added at the rate of 50 or 200 lb an acre a year. Nitrogen fertilizer significantly increased the total dry matter and nitrogen yields from green panic and green panic plus glycine swards, but not from green panic plus lucerne swards. Lucerne was more productive than glycine. Inclusion of legumes in the sward increased the total yield of nitrogen. For plots without nitrogen fertilizer, lucerne increased the nitrogen yields by about 230 lb an acre a year, and glycine increased yields by about 60 lb an acre a year. Most of this extra nitrogen was harvested in the legume.

scholarly journals Poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) Intercropping with Spring Barley and with White Clover: Benefits and Competitive Effects

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 948
Author(s):  
Katharina Luhmer ◽  
Hanna Blum ◽  
Thorsten Kraska ◽  
Thomas Döring ◽  
Ralf Pude
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Spring Barley ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
Risk Minimization ◽  
Crop Failure ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Competitive Effects ◽  
Sole Cropping ◽  
Weed Infestation

Poppy seed production is susceptible to abiotic and biotic stress and weed infestation, which introduces the risk of total crop failure. For the purpose of risk minimization, poppy was grown in additive intercropping systems with early and late sown white clover and spring barley sown at three different densities in a three year field trial to assess their roles in poppy cropping while adding ecological benefits to the crop rotation. Poppy yielded between 798.7 and 1293.1 kg ha−1, with no significant yield effects of intercropping with white clover, compared to poppy sole-cropping. Dry matter, height, leaf area index and C/N ratio of the poppy plants were not significantly impacted by the clover intercrop either, independent on its sowing date. Higher poppy yields (695.6–918.8 kg ha−1) and LERs (1.11–1.84) in the poppy–barley intercrop were achieved in 2018 and 2020 compared to 2019 (≤361.5 kg ha−1, LER ≤ 0.99), mainly due to differences in seeding dates, precipitation and nutrient availability. Therefore, previous seeding of poppy limits competition when intercropped with barley while white clover and poppy can be sown at the same time. The effect of barley seeding densities on the intercrop performance was small as was the influence of intercropping on weed cover, number and biomass. The weed regulating effect needs to be further examined, however, we conclude that intercropping of poppy is a promising strategy for its cultivation, in terms of minimizing the risk of total yield losses when precisely managed.

Inoculation of white clover with different strains of Rhizobium trifolii on a mineral hill soil

1984 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 455-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. R. Mytton ◽  
D. M. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Dry Matter Production ◽  
Rhizobium Trifolii ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Different Strains ◽  
Harvest Year ◽  
Inoculation Treatment

SummaryS.184 white clover was established on an unimproved brown earth hill pasture using both surface seeding techniques and conventional cultivation. Inoculation with selected Rhizobium trifolii improved clover dry-matter production by 0·017 t/ha on the cultivated trial in the establishment year and by 0·13 t/ha in the first harvest year. On the uncultivated site, clover dry-matter production was increased 1·88 t/ha by the best inoculation treatment in the first harvest year and 1·01 t/ha in the second harvest year. Rhizobium strains differed in their ability to promote clover growth. Clover yields were substantially better on the uncultivated than on the cultivated trial. The implications of the results for hill land pasture improvement are discussed.

Effect of cultivar, carbofuran and row spacing on the incidence of stem and leaf nematodes (Ditylenchus dipsaci and Aphelenchoides ritzema-bosi) in lucerne (Medicago sativa) and on lucerne herbage yield

1994 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Medicago Sativa ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Row Spacing ◽  
Infested Soil ◽  
Clay Loam ◽  
Herbage Yield ◽  
Ditylenchus Dipsaci

SUMMARYIn a clay loam at Rothamsted, inoculated with lucerne stem nematode (Ditylenchus dipsaci) and a leaf nematode (Aphelenchoides ritzema-bosi), lucerne herbage yields were increased on average by 17 and 59% respectively, in the first and second years of a 4-year experiment (1988–91), by carbofuran granules applied around the seeds at sowing in spring 1988. In seven-row plots over the 4 years of the experiment, 1·65 kg a.i./ha increased total yield as much as did 3·3 kg a.i./ha (11 and 12%, respectively). In four-row plots over the same period, 1·9 kg a.i./ha increased total yield by 9%. The cultivars Euver and Vertus, which are partially resistant to D. dipsaci, yielded 44·3 and 48·5 t dry matter/ha, respectively, whereas Europe and Vela, which are susceptible to the nematode, yielded less (36·3 and 28·6 t/ha, respectively). When sown in summer 1990 in four-row plots, cultivars Europe and Euver yielded larger crops in 1991 in plots given 1·2 or 2·3 kg a.i. carbofuran/ha in 1990 (on average 34 and 48%, respectively) than in untreated plots. As little as 0·6 kg carbofuran/ha increased the yield of cv. Europe in infested soil.The stunting of lucerne plants, associated with D. dipsaci infestation, was greatly decreased by carbofuran, which prevented infestation of the first crop by D. dipsaci and A. ritzema-bosi. Stem nematode infestation of lucerne plots was adequately and quickly assessed by measuring the lengths of rows stunted by D. dipsaci. Other methods of assessment were laborious and no more reliable.

Four-year leys: the inclusion of red clover: first year management

1939 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-173
Author(s):  
F. H. Garner ◽  
H. G. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Late Flowering ◽  
Harvest Year ◽  
Summer Grazing

1. Two experiments have been carried out on the Cambridge University Farm to test the desirability of including late-flowering red clover in the seeds mixture in the case of a 4-year ley, and to compare grazing with cutting for hay in the first harvest year.2. The majority of the red clover survived for the first 2 years, during which it increased the yield of dry matter very markedly; it did not lead to any reduction of yield in the last 2 years. By producing an early cover of the ground red clover checked the encroachment of weeds; although it reduced the proportion of wild white clover in the herbage in the later years, the reduction was not serious.3. Where the young plants were well established at the time, and normal weather conditions were experienced, grazing was definitely preferable to cutting for hay during the first harvest year. Where the plants were slow in establishing themselves, and in a superlatively dry spring and summer, grazing checked the development of the sward too much, and cutting for hay gave much better results.

A comparison of diploid and tetraploid Lolium perenne L. sown alone and in mixtures with particular reference to the effect of treading

1978 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Charles ◽  
J. Valentine
Keyword(s):  
Lolium Perenne ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Seasonal Distribution ◽  
Sheep Grazing ◽  
Main Trial ◽  
The Third ◽  
Farm Survey ◽  
Harvest Year

SUMMARYDiploid and tetraploid perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cultivars were compared sown alone and in mixtures, with and without cattle treading for 4 years after the year of sowing. Data were also obtained on the survival of tetraploid ryegrass in mixtures under farm conditions.The overall effect of treading was not large but annual yield of dry matter was reduced by cattle treading every year (mean 9%). Sheep grazing and treading also reduced yield below that of cut plots. The reduction depended on the sampling date and varied from 40% to nil. In two instances treading increased yield.Interactions between cultivars/mixtures and treading occurred in 22% of the occasions when treading influenced yield. In the first harvest year the tetraploid Reveille was more resistant to treading than the diploid S. 24. In older swards (3rd and 4th harvest year) the situation was reversed. The occurrence of cultivar/mixtures × treading interactions and the effect of mixing diploid and tetraploid ryegrass on resistance to treading were unpredictable.The evidence from the main trial and the farm survey showed that tetraploid ryegrass could persist for at least 3 years after the seeding year when exposed to periods of high stock density. In addition, in mixtures there was no initial domination of the sward by either component when cut or when subjected to severe treading. In the third harvest year of the experiment the proportion of tetraploid ryegrass decreased considerably. Total yield of the mixtures was not significantly different from that of pure swards of the components though seasonal distribution of yield could be modified. The contribution of tetraploid ryegrass to swards up to 4 years old was in proportion to the percentage of tetraploid in the seeds mixture. Evidence from both the experiment and farm survey demonstrates that it is possible to exploit advantages claimed for tetraploids in mixtures for three harvest years without detrimental effect on sward performance.

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