Potential and pitfalls of caucasian clover in southern New Zealand

Abstract

The potential of caucasian clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.) to produce high quality forage and to establish in on-farm conditions was tested in southern New Zealand. Caucasian clover was established alone and after one year the plots were oversown with ryegrass, in November. After a further 6-month establishment period, dry matter (DM) yield and botanical composition were measured over the following two years. A 2 x 2 factorial design tested the effects of early or late flowering ryegrass and frequent (2 weeks in spring, 4 weeks in summer and autumn and twice during winter) or infrequent (4 weeks in spring, 6 weeks in summer and autumn, and once in winter) defoliation. Plots defoliated frequently produced less dry matter than infrequently defoliated plots (13260 and 16180 kg DM/ha respectively in year 1 and 9980 and 12250 kg DM/ha respectively in year 2, P