A WHITE CLOVER BRED FOR SOUTHERN REGIONS

Between 1975 and 1982, 320 white clover lines from overseas and New Zealand were evaluated for agronomic potential in southern regions of New Zealand. Two distinct types showed promise. Persistent ecotypes with small leaves and many stolons had an active spring-summer growth pattern suited to the climate of OtagwSouthland Productive types ('Grassland Huia' selections, Mediterranean and French material) had larger leaves with fewer stolons, competed well with grass, were tolerant to leaf diseases but lacked persistence. In 1983, a hybridisation programme combined the desirable features of both persistent and productive types. The best Fl and F2 hybrid lines had a dense morphology, produced 20% greater sprinpsummer yields than the standard Huia and showed good leaf disease tolerance. In 1985, 58 superior plants were selected and polycrossed. The bulk seed from this isolation formed a new we-release cultivar called Southern selection. The selection is being compared with HUM in wards under rotational grazing at Gore. In the 1987/00 year, the selection produced 9% greater spring-summer and annual clover yields than Huia. Improved clover herbage yield was a consequence of rapid stolen development over spring. Grass and total herbage yields from the two clover-based pastures were similar. The trial will be continued in order to obtain long-term production data Keywords: white clover, 'Grasslands Huia'. Southern selection, ryegrass, breeding, productivity, persistence</jats:p

Improving white clover for Australasia

Improving the genetic merit of temperate forage legumes helps ensure profitability and sustainability of our Australasian pastoral industries. Today’s plant breeders are supported by a range of underpinning research activities including genetic resources exploration and enhancement, plant physiology, plant health, feed quality, agronomy, quantitative genetics and plant biotechnology; and have collaborative interfaces with animal and farm systems science. Lifting the rate of gain by integration of molecular tools, innovative breeding strategies, and new genetic resources is the major objective of our white clover breeding network. This paper, presented at the Australasian Grassland Association’s recent Legume Symposium, focuses on the key research and development achievements in white clover breeding for Australasia, and on the success and future of an Australasian collaboration to breed improved cultivars for the region’s temperate environments. The paper reports on successful developments in the areas of improving white clover root systems for phosphate uptake, pest tolerance, development of novel inter-specific hybrids and marker-aided breeding. The successful trans-Tasman collaboration in white clover breeding and future work is also discussed