Growth of red clover

Abstract

Red clover is one of the world's leading forage legumes (Fergus and Hollowell, 1960). It is well adapted to the wide range of soil and climatic conditions of the agricultural areas of the temperate zones. It is widely used and particularly valuable for hay, pasture and soil improvement. A relatively low level of agronomic technology and management skill is required for its cultivation. Apart from its suitability to associate with grass, red clover also thrives as a companion crop in legume-cereal systems. Grown in a rotation it has a beneficial effect on subsequent crops and this often exceeds its value as a hay or pasture crop. Red clover has played an important role in the past, and it has increased in economic importance in Europe and United States. Red clover is the second main forage legume of the grass-clover pastures which are the basis of New Zealand's agricultural industry. Much less agronomic information is available on red clover than on its fellow legume, white clover. In this work an attempt has been made to evaluate the performance of three cultivars of red clover under different ecological regimes.