Lamb liveweight gain on kura clover-ryegrass and white clover-ryegrass swards at two levels of soil fertility

Abstract

Temporal and spatial variation in the performance of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) is viewed as potential limitation to reliance on this legume in temperate grasslands. One alternative is kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb) – a high nutritive value and persistent rhizomatous forage legume suitable for permanent pastures. A feature of kura clover’s persistence in some rangeland environments is its ability to survive with only occasional applications P and S fertiliser. These characteristics make kura clover an attractive forage legume for low-input, pasture-based sheep production systems in temperate regions.