The unique properties of red clover in the diet of ruminants

Grassland legumes are essential in organic ruminant livestock production due to their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen (N), providing high yields of high feeding value without N fertilization. White clover (Trifolium repens L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) are the most important legumes of temperate grasslands with white clover as the most widely used. New research has reviled new properties of red clover that may affect animal performance and product quality significantly. Red clover containing diets have increased the production of milk and meat (compared with grasses) and the content of beneficial fatty acids in milk and meat (compared with grasses and other legumes), improved the efficiency of feed N utilization (compared with Medicago sativa L.), and increased the milk content of isoflavones (compared with grass and white clover). Red clover contains high levels of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase that might reduce the extent of lipolysis and proteolysis. The paper presents a review on resent results from own and others’ research on the use of red clover in the diet of ruminants and the likely mechanisms by which red clover affects production and product qualit

Production and persistency of red clover (Trifolium pratense) varieties when grown in mixtures

In the Netherlands organic and conventional dairy farmers are taking an increasing interest in grass and red clover mixtures for ley pastures (cutting only). A constraint to the adoption of such mixtures is the persistency of the red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) varieties presently used in the Netherlands; Rotra, Barfiola, Violetta and Merviot. The latter being the most persistent under practical circumstances. Testing of red clover varieties in Switzerland showed a high degree of persistency of the so-called ‘mattenklee’ varieties such as Astur and Pica (Suter et al., 2004). We compared eight red clover varieties including 2 ‘mattenklee’ varieties in mixtures with perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.), and a mixture containing white clover and perennial ryegrass only. Red clover mixtures out yielded the white clover mixtures by 5.4 t dry matter (DM) ha -1 . ULC 1715186 and Astur were the most productive red clover varieties. The development of the clover content of Astur showed that this variety scored highest on persistency

Red clover grown in a mixture with grasses: yield, persistence and dynamics of quality characteristics

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) was grown in mixtures with timothy and meadow fescue in field experiments at four sites in Finland to broaden knowledge on its potential as a forage crop. The effects of cutting frequency, nitrogen fertilization in the spring and sward density were investigated. Forage yield quality was analyzed using standard methods. Red clover produced well in all swards during the two first seasons. In the third summer the proportion of red clover was greatly diminished except on sandy soil at the northernmost locality (64°40'N) where it remained productive. Linear regression adequately described the dependence of crude fibre content and crude protein content in dry matter of the primary growth and regrowth, both of red clover and grass, on accumulated temperature sum. The contents of P, K, Ca and Mg in clover and grass are given as a function of accumulated temperature to describe their changes during crop growth. The results give new knowledge about possibilities to grow red clover in the northern livestock region of Finland. They proved that soil type is more important for good persistence of red clover than latitude

Comparative growth and management of white and red clovers

peer-reviewedThe aim of this paper is to provide the underpinning scientific basis for the optimum management of white and red clovers. Critical morphological and canopy characteristics which influence the yield and persistence of white and red clover in swards, and how management factors (choice of cultivar, defoliation and nitrogen (N) fertilizer) modify these are considered. Canopy development is vitally important as it determines the extent to which a) light is intercepted for photosynthesis needed for growth and b) the base of the sward is deprived of the red component in daylight, inhibiting branching of stolons and crowns in white and red clover, respectively. The role of cultivar, defoliation and N fertilizer in determining yield and persistence of the two legumes, mainly in mixtures with grass, are discussed principally in terms of morphological development and exploitation of light. It is concluded that optimum management for grass/white clover places emphasis on building up stolons and maximising contribution of clover leaf area to the upper layers of the mixed canopy and, while red clover is more competitive to grass than white clover, that benefit is lost when a grass/red clover sward is grazed

Survival, Development and Population Dynamics of \u3ci\u3eEmpoasca Fabae\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) on Three Legume Hosts

Survival and development of potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae, nymphs were measured on alfalfa (Medicago sativa), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), and red clover (Trifolium pratense). Survival was not significantly different among host plants (mean = 62%). There was no interaction between sex and host plant for developmental time. Males developed significantly faster than females. Developmental time was fastest on alfalfa, intermediate on trefoil, and slowest on red clover. Plots of alfalfa, trefoil, and red clover were planted to compare the seasonal abundance of the potato leafhopper in the three forages. Nymphs were more abundant in trefoil than in alfalfa and red clover late in July, but no differences occurred on the other sample dates. At their peak, adults were more abundant in alfalfa than in trefoil and red clover

Yield effects of grazing and red clover in white clover/grass mixtures

In white clover/ryegrass mixtures grazing in one year significantly increases the yield in the next, compared to cutting. Red clover is a good supplement to the mixture as it performs well under cutting regime, while white clover takes over during grazing. Overall, inclusion of red clover in the mixture contributes to a more robust sward and increased flexibility in utilizatio

PhytoMilk: Effects of botanical composition and harvest system of legume/grass silage on fatty acid, α-tocopherol and β-carotene concentration in organic forage and milk

Red clover and high proportion of forage in dairy cow diet increases the concentration of bioactive substances in milk, e.g. unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. In the present experiment twenty-four Swedish Red dairy cows were fed three silages in a Latin Square design to study the effect of silage botanical composition and harvest time on milk fatty acid, α-tocopherol and β-carotene concentration. The silages were red clover/grass silage (mixture of first and second cut), red clover/grass silage (mixture of first, second and third cut) and birdsfoot trefoil/grass silage (mixture of first and second cut). Botanical composition and harvest system affected silage vitamin and fatty acid concentration with higher concentrations of α-linolenic acid, α-tocopherol and β-carotene in red clover/grass silage (mixture of three harvests). Milk linoleic and α-linolenic acid concentration was higher with the two red clover diets but α-tocopherol, β-carotene and retinol concentration was not affected

The effect of grasses grown for seed in mixture with legumes on the incidence of weeds and soil nitrogen content

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference on behalf of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR). The incidence of weeds and the content of soil nitrogen were investigated in the first year of a field trial with organic grass seed production in which the grasses were grown with companion legumes. Two grass species, timothy (Phleum pratense L.) cv. Sobol and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cv. Baca, were tested together with three legumes: red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) cv. Start, white clover (Trifolium repens L.) cv. Vysocan and black medick (Medicago lupulina L.) cv. Ekola. The N-nutrition and control of weeds were provided by three “ecological” methods and a conventional one (bacterial nodules of legumes, mulch, organic manure and mineral fertilizer). Plots with red clover had the lowest number of weeds, those with black medick the highest. Perennial ryegrass was more competitive than timothy against weeds and the companion legume. Soil nitrogen was highest in plots with white clover and red clover. During the vegetative period the level of soil nitrogen increased in the combinations with red clover, stayed the same in combinations with white clover, but decreased in those with black medick and in control plots

N2-fixation and residual N effect of four legume species and four companion grass species

Inclusion of forage legumes in low-input forage mixtures improves herbage production and soil fertility through addition of nitrogen (N) from N2-fixation. The impact of different grass-legume mixtures on the N contribution of the forage mixture has rarely been investigated under comparable soil and climatic conditions. We conducted a field experiment on a sandy soil at two nitrogen levels with seven two-species forage mixtures: alfalfa, bird’s-foot trefoil, red clover, or white clover in mixture with perennial ryegrass, and white clover in mixture with meadow fescue, timothy, or hybrid ryegrass. We found high N2-fixation of more than 300 kg N ha-1 from both red clover and alfalfa even when the two mixtures received 300 kg total-N ha-1 in cattle slurry. The addition of cattle slurry N fertilizer lowered N2-fixation for white clover and red clover as expected, but for bird’s-foot trefoil and alfalfa no changes in the proportion of N derived from N2-fixation was observed. We conclude that the competition for available soil N from perennial ryegrass in mixture was an important factor for the proportion of N in alfalfa, white clover, and bird’s-foot trefoil obtained from N2-fixation. White clover had a high proportion of N derived from atmosphere for all companion grasses despite significant differences in white clover proportion. Although the perennial ryegrass-alfalfa mixture in the grass phase yielded more than twice the N from N2-fixation compared to white clover in the perennial ryegrass mixture, this did not in the following year lead to higher residual N effects of alfalfa. Both in terms of N yield in the grass phase and N yield in the subsequent spring barley red clover contributed most to the improvement of soil N fertility

Management of red clover content of organic grassland

The clover content is an important factor in organic grassland management to optimize yield, feeding value and pre-crop effect of the ley. The variation of red clover (Trifolium pratense) content in swards of different age is often rather high in Finland. In the ongoing field experiment (1999-2002) staggered sowing of red clover seed was tested to regulate the clover content of the mixed sward. Sowing strategy did not have clear effect on the clover content or the yield of the sward. However the seeding rate affected the clover density of the field (plants/m²) in the first year. After two years the differences were equated. The best strategy to control the clover amount in the mixed swards seems sowing of 2 or 3 kg/ha (100 or 150 seeds/m²) clover seeds in establishment and then oversow on a first second ley year 1 or 2 kg/ha (50 or 100 seeds/m²)