scholarly journals Influence of the stolonkoil surface interface and plant morphology on the survival of white clover during severe drought

Author(s):  
J.L. Brock ◽  
Moon Chul Kim

Field observations indicate that conditions at the stolen/soil surface interface are important for the survival of white clover (Trifolium repens) during drought. Mini-swards of clonal material of two contrasting white clover cultivars (Grasslands Tahora, small-leaved, densely branched; Dusi, large-leaved, tap-rooted) were established in boxes (300 x 420 x 290 mm deep) for 6 months, then subjected to a 6-week drought. Stolen/soil surface conditions were modified to have stolons either, 1) fully exposed, 2) shaded, or 3) buried. Numbers and, characteristics of surviving plants were measured. The major effect was on the number of plants surviving. More plants survived under shading (55%) than burial (25%) and full exposure (17%). Numbers of plants surviving drought was related to pre-drought plant density, hence Tahora had higher plant survival than Dusi, particularly when fully exposed. Although initially Dusi plants were 25 times heavier, with 5 times the number of stolons and roots of Tahora, surviving plants of both cultivars were small and similar in dry weight, although Tahora had higher numbers of growing points and roots thanDusi. The tap-rooted character of Dusi did not. confer any advantage during drought. It was concluded that the main factor influencing drought survival of white clover appears to be grazing management. Systems that can produce dense white clover populations and maintain high pasture density (grass) capable of providing shelter from direct solar radiation during drought stress, are superior. Keywords: drought survival, plant density, plant morphology, stolon burial, stolon shading, Trifolium repens

Author(s):  
J.L. Brock ◽  
V.J. Thomas

Detailed studies of plant growth processes are important in understanding the performance and persistence of species in pastures, particularly in response to uncharacteristic environmental stress. The morphology of perennial ryegrass plants in mixed sheep grazed pastures was determined in self contained farmlets undercontrasting managements of rotational grazing, set stocking or a combination of both. Average size was 90 mg total DW, with 4- 5 tillers and 12-13 leaves, little different to white clover. Ryegrass exhibits strong clonal growth, with extension at the apex and death of the basal stem releasing branches to form new plants at regular intervals, maintaining a stable population structure of small plants all year. The normally short internodes on ryegrass stems can elongate to form stolon and elevate the apex to a more favourable position if survival is threatened. On average only 2530% of plants contained stolon at any one time. Because of high plant density the quantities of ryegrass stem present was often in excess of that produced by white clover in the same swards. Grazing management did not affect plant structure (numbers of tillers, leaves etc) only their size (dry weight), but had marked effects on pasture structure and subsequent survival of plants under stress. Keywords perennial ryegrass, plant morphology, grazing management, seasonal variation, plant survival, stolon formation


1996 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 163-166
Author(s):  
J. Van den Bosch ◽  
C.F. Mercer

Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne sp.) reduces growth and nutrition of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) in New Zealand, and breeding resistant cultivars (with low galls per gram of root) is the preferred control method. Resistant and susceptible selections were bred from a wide range of white clover lines for three generations. In the third generation there were significant differences between seed lines from the selections for number of galls, root dry weight, visual growth score and galls/gram of root dry weight. Resistant selections had 43% of the susceptible selections' galls per gram, and 50% of the number of galls. Germplasm showing resistance to Meloidogyne spp. in the USA showed partial resistance to the local Meloidogyne sp. Two resistant and two susceptible genotypes were also compared for nematode egg production; resistant genotypes had a mean of 3,460 eggs/plant, compared to 25,030 for susceptible genotypes. Keywords: breeding, Meloidogyne sp., resistance, rootknot nematode, screening, selection, Trifolium repens, white clover


Agronomy ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 190
Author(s):  
Lei Chu ◽  
Yiping Gao ◽  
Lingling Chen ◽  
Patrick E. McCullough ◽  
David Jespersen ◽  
...  

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is cultivated as a forage crop and planted in various landscapes for soil conservation. There are numerous reports of failed white clover stands each year. A good understanding of the seed germination biology of white clover in relation to environmental factors is essential to achieve successful stand establishment. A series of experiments were conducted to investigate the impacts of light, temperature, planting depth, drought, and salt stress on seed germination and the emergence of white clover. White clover is negatively photoblastic, and seed germination averaged 63 and 66% under light and complete dark conditions 4 weeks after planting (WAP), respectively. Temperature affected the seed germination speed and rate. At 1 WAP, seeds incubated at 15 to 25 °C demonstrated a significantly higher germination rate than the low temperatures at 5 and 10 °C; however, the germination rate did not differ among the temperature treatments at 4 WAP. The results suggest that white clover germination decreases with increasing sowing depths, and the seeds should be sown on the soil surface or shallowly buried at a depth ≤1 cm to achieve an optimal emergence. White clover seeds exhibited high sensitivity to drought and salinity stress. The osmotic potential and NaCl concentration required to inhibit 50% seed germination were −0.19 MPa and 62.4 mM, respectively. Overall, these findings provide quantifiable explanations for inconsistent establishment observed in field conditions. The results obtained in this research can be used to develop effective planting strategies and support the successful establishment of white clover stands.


1989 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. M. Hay ◽  
J. L. Brock ◽  
V. J. Thomas

SUMMARYDensities of physiologically independent plants of white clover were studied in New Zealand in pastures stocked at 22·5 ewes plus lambs/ha by set stocking, rotational grazing or a combination of both systems. Plants were sampled once a month for 1 year (1984/85) by taking turves and washing out the plants. Numbers of growing points and stolon dry weight per plant were obtained. At each sampling fifty, 50 mm diameter pasture plugs were taken from each sward and growing point density and stolon mass/m2 of white clover were measured. The density of white clover plants in the swards was estimated on the basis of both stolon dry weight and number of growing points.The two estimates gave similar results. There was a trend of lowest densities in set-stocked pastures (334/m2), intermediate densities in combination management pastures (431/m2) and highest densities in the rotationally grazed pastures (553/m2). The overall mean density of white clover plants was 439/m2 and the range was 193–811/m2.The structure of swards under the three systems of grazing differed and this was considered to contribute towards the variation in density of white clover plants in the various swards.


1988 ◽  
Vol 111 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Brock ◽  
M. J. M. Hay ◽  
V. J. Thomas ◽  
J. R. Sedcole

SummaryThere has been little study on the growth and morphology of individual plants constituting the population of white clover in mixed swards under grazing. Such information is required if the mechanisms governing plant productivity and persistence are to be understood.Intact white clover plants were sampled from intensively sheep-grazed pastures under set stocking, rotational grazing, and a combination of both systems, by taking turves (250 × 250 mm), and washing out the plants, every month for a year. Characters measured for every stolon of each plant were: presence of a growing point; numbers of leaves, roots and axillary buds; stolon length. Total plant leaf and stolon dry weight were also recorded. Plants were classified according to degree of branching, and the contribution of each branching order to the population determined.There were strong seasonal variations in plant size (leaf and stolon dry weight, stolon length, and numbers of stolons and leaves per plant) which showed a significant decrease in spring with recovery over the following summer. This was paralleled by a rapid increase in the proportion of less branched plants (1st and 2nd branching order) in the population from 60 to 80% in spring, as higher-order plants broke up into smaller- and lower-ordered plants at this time. Numbers of roots per plant increased over winter to peak in early spring then declined in the following summer-autumn. While system of grazing management had no significant effect on branching structure of plants, it had a large effect on plant dry weight; rotationally grazed plants were 2·5 times larger than set stocked plants (0·182 cf. 0·073 g respectively).Other general features of plant morphology were that each successive order of branch stolons was shorter and length before branching was less than that of their preceding parent stolon. The highest branching order observed was 6th order. There was no relationship between branching and numbers of roots; in branched plants only 55% of stolons were rooted regardless of plant order, but rooted stolons accounted for 85% of total stolon length and carried 62, 48 and 90% of the leaves, growing points and axillary buds per plant, respectively.Comparison with other studies suggests that the processes outlined in this report may be common to white clover growth under grazing over a wide range of favourable environments.


Nematology ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 449-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris F. Mercer ◽  
John Van Den Bosch ◽  
Kylie J. Miller

Abstract Selections of white clover resistant or susceptible to Heterodera trifolii in earlier rounds of a recurrent selection programme were intercrossed and selected in three further rounds of selection. Resistance and susceptibility were measured by comparisons of cysts per gram of root dry weight (cpg). In the third, fourth, and fifth rounds of recurrent selection, the mean cpg of progenies from resistant parents was 23% (n = 974), 6% (n = 870) and 11% (n = 98) of that of progenies from susceptible parents. In each selection round, the resistant selections had 31, 4 and 7% of the number of cysts on susceptible selections. The percentages of immune plants (i.e. with 0 cysts) in the resistant groups were 1, 39, and 50% after the third, fourth, and fifth rounds of recurrent selection, respectively. Inoculum from 16 populations of H. trifolii from around New Zealand was added to two resistant and two susceptible white clover lines. After one generation of nematode development there were fewer cysts on the resistant lines for each population tested. Two resistant and two susceptible lines were compared in a glasshouse trial for their reaction to parasitism by H. trifolii . Infection reduced the shoot weight of all four lines but resistant lines grew better than either one or both susceptible lines at 109, 126, and 160 days after inoculation. In contrast, the uninfected lines did not differ in shoot weight over five samplings. More cysts were recovered from susceptible lines (means of 370 and 430 cysts per plant) than from resistant lines (means of 41 and 56 cysts per plant). Results indicate that development of a white clover cultivar resistant to H. trifolii is achievable and that the resistance will be effective against the nematode in most of New Zealand. The growth study indicated that advantages will be conferred in pastures where the presence of H. trifolii causes major limitations to white clover growth and persistence. Zusammenfassung- Die Wirksamkeit einer mehrfach wiederholten Selektion von Weissklee (Trifolium repens) auf Resistenz gegen das Kleezystenalchen (Heterodera trifolii)- In einem fruheren Selektionsprogramm gegen Heterodera trifolii resistente oder anfallige Weisskleeselektionen wurden gekreuzt und in weiteren Selektionsrunden selektiert. Resistenz und Anfalligkeit wurden durch Vergleich der Anzahl der Zysten je Gramm Wurzeltrockengewicht (cpg) bestimmt. In der dritten, vierten und funften Runde der Wiederholungsselektion betrugen die cpg-Werte bei Nachkommen von resistenten Eltern 23% (n = 974), 6% (n = 870) und 11% (n = 98) der Werte bei Nachkommen anfalliger Eltern. In jeder der Selektionsrunden hatten die resistenten Selektionen nur 31, 4 und 7% der Zystenzahlen an den anfalligen Selektionen. Nach der dritten, vierten bzw. funften Selektionsrunde betrugen die Anteile immuner Pflanzen (d.h. mit 0 Zysten) 1, 39 bzw. 50%. Das Inoculum von 16 Populationen aus ganz Neuseeland wurde an zwei resistente und zwei anfallige Weisskleelinien gegeben. Nach einer Generation der Nematodenentwicklung waren an den resistenten Linien bei jeder der untersuchten Populationen weniger Zysten. Die Reaktion von zwei resistenten und zwei anfalligen Linien auf einen Befall mit H. trifolii wurde in einem Gewachshausversuch gepruft. Der Befall verringerte das Sprossgewicht aller vier Linien, doch wuchsen die resistenten Linien nach 109, 126 und 160 Tagen besser als die beiden anfalligen Linien. Im Gegensatz dazu unterschieden sich die Linien bei Nichtbefall bei funf Probenahmen im Sprossgewicht nicht voneinander. An den anfalligen Pflanzen wurden mehr Zysten gefunden (im Mittel 370 und 430 je Pflanze) als an den resistenten Pflanzen (im Mittel 41 und 56 je Pflanze). Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Entwicklung einer gegen H. trifolii resistenten Weisskleesorte erreichbar ist, und dass diese Resistenz gegen die Nematoden im grossten Teil Neuseelands wirksam sein wird. Die Wachstumsuntersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass die Vorteile besonders auf solchen Weideflachen deutlich werden, wo die Anwesenheit von H. trifolii erhebliche Einschrankungen des Wachstums und des Uberdauerns von Weissklee verursacht.


2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter L. Ballizany ◽  
Rainer W. Hofmann ◽  
M. Z. Zulfiqhar Jahufer ◽  
Brent A. Barrett

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is an important pasture legume in temperate regions, but growth is often strongly reduced under summer drought. Cloned individuals from a full-sib progeny of a pair cross between two phenotypically distinct white clover populations were exposed to water deficit in pots under outdoor conditions for 9 weeks, while control pots were maintained at field capacity. Water deficit decreased leaf water potential by more than 50% overall, but increased the levels of the flavonol glycosides of quercetin (Q) and the ratio of quercetin and kaempferol glycosides (QKR) by 111% and by 90%, respectively. Water deficit reduced dry matter (DM) by 21%, with the most productive genotypes in the controls showing the greatest proportional reduction. The full-sib progeny displayed a significant increase in the root : shoot ratio by 53% under water deficit. Drought-induced changes in plant morphology were associated with changes in Q, but not kaempferol (K) glycosides. The genotypes with high QKR levels reduced their DM production least under water deficit and increased their Q glycoside levels and QKR most. These data show, at the individual genotype level, that increased Q glycoside accumulation in response to water deficit stress can be positively associated with retaining higher levels of DM production.


2014 ◽  
Vol 76 ◽  
pp. 183-188
Author(s):  
Keith Widdup ◽  
Shirley Nichols ◽  
Warren Williams ◽  
Isabelle Verry ◽  
Ben Harvey

Abstract White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is valued for its contribution to pasture quality and utilisation by animals, compatibility with grass, and fixation of nitrogen. However, it is limited by poor adaptation to drought. Hybridisation with Trifolium uniflorum L. may have potential to improve the drought resistance of white clover. An experiment in a rain shelter facility with contrasting moisture treatments, and a field evaluation under dryland conditions, were used to compare the agronomic potential of these interspecific hybrids (ISH) with white clover in moisture limited conditions. In the rain shelter experiment, there were smaller effects of water stress on shoot dry weight (DW), leaf area, internode length and senescence of first backcross generation hybrids compared with white clover and second backcross generation hybrids. Differences in photosynthetic responses were possibly influenced by the effect of root DW allocation on water uptake. In the field evaluation, growth scores of a wider range of hybrid families during summer moisture stress concurred with the results under water stress in the rain shelter. Growth of some ISH families outperformed the best white clover cultivars, particularly in the third and most stressful summer and this result was a key performance indicator of the value of the hybrids for drought prone areas. These findings using early, unselected, hybrid populations indicate the potential for further selection of elite, adapted cultivars from ISH breeding strategies. Keywords: Interspecific clover hybrid, drought resistance, rain shelter, field evaluation


Author(s):  
J. Van den Bosch ◽  
C.F. Mercer

Clover cyst nematode (Heterodera trifolii) reduces growth and nutrient uptake of white clover (Trifolium repens) in New Zealand, and breeding resistant cultivars is the preferred control method for ecological and economic reasons. Resistant and susceptible selections were taken from a wide range of white clover seedlines. Selected plants were intercrossed and reselected over two cycles of selection. Cysts per gram of root dry weight (cysts/ g) was the measure of resistance used, with low cysts/g plants being more resistant. The mean cysts/ g value of the progenies from resistant parents was 69% of the mean value of the progenies from susceptible parents in the first generation, and 38% in the second generation. Root weights were similar, while the resistant selections had 58% and 34% (first and second generations respectively) of the number of cysts in the susceptible selections. There were no immune plants (0 cysts) in the first generation and only two in the second. Counts were made of cysts, eggs per cyst and eggs per plant on clones of two resistant and two susceptible genotypes. The resistant genotypes had lower counts than the susceptible genotypes in terms of cysts per plant (means of 6 cf. 108), eggs per cyst (11 cf. 21) and eggs per plant (35 cf. 1650). The differences in numbers of cysts between resistant and susceptible lines increased during two generations of selection, supporting earlier results that indicated that progress in breeding for resistance was possible. Furthermore, the resistance is also acting on clover cyst nematode egg production which would further reduce recruitment to later generations of clover cyst nematode. Keywords: breeding, Heterodera trifolii, resistance, screening, selection, Trifolium repens


1996 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  
S.L. Harris ◽  
D.A. Clark ◽  
C.D. Waugh ◽  
F.H. Clarkson

Effects of high N fertiliser rates on white clover content in the sward and clover plant morphology were monitored over two years (June1993-June 1995) at the DRC, Hamilton. The clover study was part of a farmlet trial aimed at increasing milksolids (MS) production to 1750 kg MS/ha using urea (0, 200 or 400 kg N/ha/yr) to increase pasture production at low (3.2 cows/ha) or high (4.5 cows/ha) stocking rates. On low stocked farmlets clover contents declined to 10.6% (200 kg N/ ha/yr) and 2.2% (400 kg N/ha/yr) by June 1995 compared with 16.8% under no N. Decreased clover content was a result of increased competition from N-boosted ryegrass. At the high stocking rate, N application resulted in clover contents of 14.9% (200 kg N/ha/yr) and 6.8% (400 kg N/ha/yr) compared with 15.4% under no N. Pasture utilisation was better on these farmlets, suggesting the improved utilisation and control of additional feed, particularly during spring, was responsible for the higher clover content. Measurements of clover plant density supported the clover content observations. By June 1995 there were 438, 227 and 26 plants/m2 under 0, 200 and 400 kg N/ha/yr respectively. High N rates also affected clover plant morphology; plants developed fewer axillary buds and stolons, and had lower stolon dry weights under 400 kg N/ha/yr. Keywords: clover content, dairying, morphology, nitrogen, plant density, Trifolium repens, white clover


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