Effect of provenance and ploidity of red clover varieties on productivity, persistence and growth pattern in mixture with grasses

Abstract

In temporary and permanent grasslands, red clover distinctly increases herbage quality and production at low fertilization requirements. Main disadvantage of this species is its insufficient persistence. There are considerable differences in persistence among varieties, which are connected with different adaptability and disease resistance. In this experiment, we assessed the production of dry forage, number of plants and growth differences in eight tetraploid and fourteen diploid varieties grown in mixture with grasses. The highest production of forage for both harvest years was achieved by Czech varieties Spurt and Amos and by Swiss variety Milvus. The lowest forage production was recorded in both years in Swedish one-cut varieties Betty, Jesper and SW Torun. In the second production year, the most yielding was German variety Lucrum, followed by Czech varieties Spurt and Amos. The highest cover in the third production year was reached by Swiss variety Artus (87.8%) while the lowest cover was recorded in Austrian variety Reichersberger Neu (40.0%). Tetraploid varieties exhibited significantly lower contents of dry matter but their productivity and persistence did not differ from diploids. Very suitable for long-term use thus appear Swiss varieties of Mattenklee type (Artus, Milvus), German variety Lucrum and Czech varieties Amos, Spurt and Start.