The Effect of a Ryegrass Companion Grass and the Variety of Red Clover on the Productivity of Red‐clover Swards

Abstract

An experiment was condncted to measure the effects of differrat ryegrass companion grasses and red-clover varieties on the productivity of red-clover swards. Three sOage harvests per year were taken over a 2-year period.The addition of a companion grass increased total herbage yields; S24 perennial ryegrass gave the highest herbage yield over the two years, followed by Reveille perennial ryegrass. Because of lack of persistence, Tetila Italian ryegrass yielded poorly the second year. A companion grass had Uttle effect on red-clover yields in the mixed swards but improved percentage digestibility of the OM of the total herbage and lowered the CP percentage. Its presence also reduced the ingress of unsown species.The variety of red clover used had little effect on total herbage yields or red-clover yields in the first harvest year. In the second year, Hungaropoly and Tilo persisted better and so gave higher total herbage yields and red-clover yields than Dorset Marl or Essex. The fall in total herbage yields from the first to the second year was entirely due to a fall in red-clover yield since yields of the 'non-red clover' fraction of the total herbage increased.A red-clover/grass sward may have advantages over a pure red-clover sward nutritionally, for silage-making and for its effect in diluting the oestrogenic activity of a pure clover sward. A major reappraisal of the role and potential of red-clover swards in the UK is warranted because of their many valuable attributes, particularly their ability to give high herbage yields of high nutritive value without the addition of fertilizer N. The improved persistency of some of the tetraploid varieties of red clover enhances the value of the plant.

Productivity of red clover grown alone and with companion grasses over a four‐year period

“…Over all years the only significant difference was between the comparatively low yield given by Essex and that given by each ofthe remaining five cultivars. These findings are somewhat at variance with those of Frame et al {1972) and Hunt e/ ai (1974,1975) who reported that over a 2-or 3-year period tetraploids were usually more persistent than diploids as judged by yield. In the present experiment the yields given by all cultivars were well maintained up to the end of the third year and only in the fourth year was there any evidence of decline in the persistency of the diploid cultivars as compared with the tetraploid cultivars.…”

Red Clover Silage for Milk Production

“…If the seedling clover was then sprayed with an appropriate herbicide it was possible to obtain an almost pure stand. A well established crop yielded over 9000 Ib DM/ac in the 1st harvest year, without the application of fertilizer N, which is slightly less than the yield recorded for a Broad Red clover (12), but within the range of values quoted by Frame, Harkess and Hunt (8). Yields on a field scale will undoubtedly be less than yields calculated from small-plot experiments because of the reduction in yield caused by mechanical damage to the clover plants in the field.…”

“…The productivity of the sward in the 1st, 2nd and later harvest years is obviously linked with the proportion of vigorous clover plants in the sward, and initial observations indicate that satisfactory yields can be obtained in the 2nd harvest year, and even in the 3rd year, as at Garlieston (Experiment 1). A reduction in yield is normally expected in the 2nd harvest year with red clovers (8,12) and this important aspect of the crop merits further investigation.…”

“…Recently, several tetraploid red clovers have outyielded diploids in the same maturity group by 15-40% (12), a result thought to be due largely to the high resistance of the tetraploids to fungal diseases. Variety trials at the West of Scotland Agricultural College have shown clearly that the tetraploid Hungaropoly persisted better and gave higher total yields than Dorset Marl and Essex (8,9). To extend this experimental work, a total of 16 ac of tetraploid red clover, variety Hungaropoly, were sown at the West of Scotland Agricultural College and the Hannah Research Institute, made into various silages, and then fed to dairy cows to measure the intake of the silages and to determine the effect of the silages on milk production.…”

“…Although the use of red clover (Trifolium pratense) has declined, there is recent evidence to justify a major reappraisal of the role of this crop in the UK (8). The main reason is that red clover can give a high yield of digestible organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) per ac without the use of fertilizer N. Further, the new tetraploid red clovers are superior to the older red clovers in yield, nutritive value, persistence and resistance to pests and diseases.…”