Registration of ‘Barduro’ Mid‐Dormant Red Clover

Abstract

‘Barduro’ (Reg. No. CV‐31, PI 664479) red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is a synthetic cultivar selected for mid‐dormancy and high resistance to root‐knot nematodes (RKN; Meloidogyne spp.). Pest resistance and plant dormancy are critical factors for adaptation of red clover into the southeastern United States. The objective of this program was to select for a mid‐dormancy response between transitional‐zone cultivars and the nondormant ‘Southern Belle’, while maintaining RKN resistance. A population of 3250 plants comprising approximately 50% Southern Belle, 15% ‘Scarlet’, 15% ‘Cinnamon’, 15% ‘Kenstar’, and 5% creeping red clover introductions was the base population from which vigorous plants with intermediate spring dormancy were selected for vigor, pest resistance, and dormancy response. Approximately 1000 selected plants were allowed to interpollinate in spring 1997. Four such cycles were conducted, with the final population intercrossed in summer 2000. This population was released as the cultivar ‘Barduro’ by the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station in 2009. First‐harvest and total seasonal yields of Barduro have been similar to the most nondormant cultivars when grown at locations across the lower Coastal Plains. Barduro dry‐matter yields were among the top‐yielding cultivars when grown in the upper Coastal Plains and lower transition‐zone states. Barduro was not different in RKN gall and egg mass scores from Southern Belle and was superior in resistance to Kenstar. The spring dormancy response was intermediate between that of Southern Belle and ‘Kenton’.