Red clover grown in a mixture with grasses : yield, persistence and dynamics of quality characteristics

Mela, Timo

doi:10.23986/afsci.5752

Cited by 29 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…ley age, corroborate previous reports from northern Europe (Frame et al 1985, Fagerberg and Ekbohm 1995, Mela 2003. As confirmed by other studies of legume-grass leys not amended with easily-soluble N fertilizers, herbage production was dependent on the proportion of clover (Mallarino and Wedin 1990, Newton 1995, Mela 2003.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…As confirmed by other studies of legume-grass leys not amended with easily-soluble N fertilizers, herbage production was dependent on the proportion of clover (Mallarino and Wedin 1990, Newton 1995, Mela 2003. Since clover growth was more variable than that of grass, increased withinfield variation of herbage production in the second cut was attributable to the more dominating role of clover in the regrowth taking place subsequent to the first cut.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

“…However, herbage production and clover proportions have been found to fluctuate markedly on spatial, intra-annual, and inter-annual scales (Jørgensen et al 1994, Mela 2003, Herrmann et al 2005. Variability of herbage growth is caused by variations in weather conditions, soil properties and management; the competitive balance between grasses and clovers depends on the physiological characteristics of the plants (Frame et al 1998, Schulte et al 2003.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds. ), on the other hand, has a better regrowth ability than timothy or red clover (Pulli 1980, Nissinen and Hakkola 1995, Mela 2003. Consequently, in Finnish conditions a harvest system involving three or four cuts is recommended for meadow fescue leys (Pulli 1980) whereas timothy and red clover-grass leys are usually cut only twice (cf.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variability of herbage production in mixed leys as related to ley age and environmental factors: a farm survey

Riesinger¹,

Herzon²

2008

AFSci

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Influences of ley age, soil properties, and geographical location on the herbage production of red clover-grass leys were determined under practical conditions on 27 organic farms located in the southern and in the northwestern coastal regions of Finland. Averaged over one-, two-, and three-year-old leys the accumulated first and second cuts produced 7.12 t dry matter herbage ha-1 year-1, with a clover proportion of 34.8%. Herbage production declined with increasing ley age. The average proportion of clover increased from 26.4% in the first to 43.7% in the second cut but decreased with ley age. Within- and between-field variations of clover proportions markedly decreased from the first to the second cut and strongly increased with ley age, while changes in the variations of herbage production were less pronounced. Within-field variations of clover proportions in the first and in the second cuts were higher at lower proportions of clover. Herbage production was positively related with clover proportion. Soil properties had a major impact on clover proportion and herbage production, largely explaining also regional differences in ley growth. Amelioration of fields and, not at least, of less fertile sites within the same field seems to be a crucial requirement for higher and more even clover proportions and herbage yields.;

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variability of herbage production in mixed leys as related to ley age and environmental factors: a farm survey

Riesinger¹,

Herzon²

2008

AFSci

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“…Average N content in mixtures with the Perseus hybrid was 2.1%, compared to 2.3% in mixtures with the Felina hybrid; average N content in our experiment was 2.22%, but this parameter was to a great extent dependent on site climatic conditions. Mela (2003) determined a linear regression of N content in relation to cumulative temperature sum. According to Knezevic et al (2009), a possibility to increase the N content in grass-clover mixtures may be a harvest in the earlier growth stages of grasses.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of surface and injection fertilization on various grass hybrids in grass-clover mixture

Kozlovský¹,

Balík²,

Cerny³

et al. 2010

PLANT SOIL ENVIRON

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557Grass-clover mixtures combine the advantages of both their components; their yield usually exceeds those of the components grown in monocultures (Annicchiarico and Tomasoni 2010). Moreover, the production of dry matter throughout the year is balanced; grasses yield more in spring whereas clover crops produce more dry matter in summer (Mooso and Wedin 1990). Clover crops have a higher content of protein than grass (Evans et al. 1996, Gökkus et al. 1999); yet, their duration in the mixture is lower as compared to grass (Hejduk and Knot 2010). More erect leaves of grasses and horizontal leaves of clover crops minimize any interspecific competition (Lantinga et al. 1999).Another advantage of grass-clover mixture is a possibility of lower input of nitrogen fertilizer due to atmospheric nitrogen fixation by root-nodule bacteria at the roots of clover crops (Erkovan et al. 2008); yet, to obtain the maximum yield of dry matter, it is necessary to fertilize the grass-clover stands with nitrogen. At the conventional surface application of nitrogen fertilizers, the plants, both grass and clover, take up nitrogen mainly in the nitrate form. At the same time, clover, similar to other legumes fertilized with mineral nitrogen, produces nodules as a prerequisite of N 2 fixation. Nodule formation and therefore N 2 fixation may be reduced when N is supplied as mineral ferti- ABSTRACTIn a small-plot trial, grass hybrids Perseus (loloid) and Felina (festucoid) were compared in a mixture with red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and their reactions to surface application of nitrogen fertilizers or injection into soil according to CULTAN method were investigated. Both fertilizer application methods were used with three levels of nitrogen. Mixtures containing the Felina hybrid had higher yields (12.1 t/ha) compared to the Perseus hybrid (11.0 t/ha), and they also showed higher clover abundance. Increasing dosage of nitrogen resulted in slightly higher yield, whereas the trend in clover abundance was opposite. Nitrogen injection resulted in slightly higher dry matter yields and slightly higher clover abundance as compared to surface fertilization. The N content in the grass-clover mixture was balanced for both types of fertilizer application and did not change significantly with increasing dosage of fertilizer. A slightly higher N content was observed at the Felina hybrid treatments; the dependence of this element on clover abundance in the mixture was set up to 50%.

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Seasonal development of above‐ and below‐ground organs of Trifolium pratense in grass–legume mixture on different soils

Chmelíková

Wolfrum

Schmid

et al. 2014

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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Grass–legume mixtures are suitable for crop rotations in organic farming. However, seasonal development of below‐ground organs of Trifolium pratense in mixtures and on different soils was neglected. We asked (1) how the diameter of the root neck, the maximum order of branching as well as (2) the nodule traits are affected by locality and time, and (3) how above‐ground plant traits of red clover vary in space and time. Red clover was investigated in grass–legume mixtures in the first year of vegetation. Five sites in S Germany were sampled at the day of cut at the end of May, the beginning of July, and at the end of August, respectively. Under similar climatic conditions root traits (diameter of the root neck, order of root branching, size of nodules, and proportion of senescent nodules) differed with soil conditions and time within the season. Root diameter increased during the season. Higher sand content fostered root branching and branched roots developed more nodules. Thinner roots had more active nodules (pink). Root diameter and non‐active senescent (green) or moribund (brown) nodules increased at the end of season. Nodule activity differed more according to season than to soil conditions. The number of nodules per plant (12.5–19.5) decreased from May to August. Cylindrical nodules were found on 85–100% of the plants and branched nodules only on 0–25%. The height of plants was lowest in May and increased in July. The mean number of stems per plant (3.3–6.3) was highest in August. Understanding red clover traits and N2 fixation is interesting scientifically as well as agronomical. Organic and conventional farmers can both benefit of our findings.

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Red clover grown in a mixture with grasses : yield, persistence and dynamics of quality characteristics

Cited by 29 publications

References 7 publications

Variability of herbage production in mixed leys as related to ley age and environmental factors: a farm survey

Variability of herbage production in mixed leys as related to ley age and environmental factors: a farm survey

Assessment of surface and injection fertilization on various grass hybrids in grass-clover mixture

Seasonal development of above‐ and below‐ground organs of Trifolium pratense in grass–legume mixture on different soils

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