Cut and Post‐Cut Herbage Management Affects Berseem Clover Seed Yield

Abstract

The seed yield of berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is usually obtained from regrowth after forage utilization. In stockless, cereal-growing, or specialized seed farms the forage is not needed and the mowed herbage is seldom marketable. Three different experiments were conducted in a Mediterranean environment to evaluate the effect of returning the cut biomass to the soil/crop on the regrowth, seed yield, and seed quality of berseem clover. Different forms of cut and post-cut management were examined, in which the time of cutting, the amount of biomass returned to the crop/soil, and the size of the returned material (unchopped or chopped) all varied. In addition, the effect of the berseem management on the grain yield and N content of a subsequent durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) crop was evaluated. The study showed that when cutting takes place during the early spring, removing and returning the herbage both result in similar seed yields but when cutting takes place later it is necessary to chop the herbage to eliminate or strongly attenuate the negative effects of mulching on seed yield. In farms in which it is not convenient or possible to use the cut herbage, returning the herbage to the crop/soil (without detrimental effects on seed yield) would increase N availability for subsequent non-legume crops. This option appears to be particularly relevant to organic farming.

Forage Development through Farmer Participatory Research for the Sustainability of Smallholder Dairy Farmers

“…The frequent cuttings can be used to manipulate the distribution of DM, subsequently impacting on DM and seed yields of Berseem clover [3] which was in agreement to the results reported in the present study. Smallholder farmers are often reluctant in adopting the improved technologies related to genetic improvement and production of fodder crops [4].…”

Weed seedbank size and composition in a long‐term tillage and crop sequence experiment

“…The introduction of berseem clover into the crop sequence resulted in a dramatic reduction in potential weed infestation; this result can be explained by the fact that the seeds of berseem clover develop after a spring cut, before dissemination of weeds occurs. The spring cut, together with the excellent regrowth ability of berseem clover (Giambalvo et al ., ; Amato et al ., ), greatly limits weed seed production. The reduction in total weed seed density detected in W F compared with W W is difficult to explain.…”

Influence of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae on Biomass Production and Nitrogen Fixation of Berseem Clover Plants Subjected to Water Stress

“…Berseem clover ( Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is a drought-tolerant forage legume that is well adapted to semiarid conditions and widely cultivated under rain-fed conditions in the Mediterranean, central Asia, and, most recently, the United States [11] . In Mediterranean areas, it is usually sown in the autumn and grown until early summer as a multicut forage species, thanks to its ability to regrow after cutting [12] .…”