Legume seed production and research in Europ

Boelt, B.

English

Organic Eprints

ILegume Seed Production &Research in EuropeBirte Boelt*Department of Plant BiologyDanish Institute ofAgricultural SciencesSlagelse, Denmark*E-mail : Birte .Boelagrsci .dkLegume Seed Production in EuropeWithin the member states of the European Union (EU),clover seed were produced on 25 .422 hectare in 2000. Redclover (Trifolium pratense L.) seed production encounters11.031 hectare, white clover (Trifolium repens L.) 4.346hectare and other clover species 10.045 hectare (figure 1).The group 'other clovers' consists among others ofCrimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) and alsikeclover (Trifolium hybridum L.). These species arepredominantly grown in the southern parts of Europe. In1991 red clover seed production area increased due to there-union in Germany, however, in the following years itdecreased. Since 1997 the area has increased steadily to atotal in 2000 higher than in 1991 . France has the largestproduction area of red clover (5 .732 hectare) followed bythe new EU member state, Sweden.N01	1986	1988	1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000	2002-4-- Red clover -+- White clover -*- OthersFigure 1 . Total clover seed production area (hectare) in EUmember states. The illustrated species are red clover(Trifolium pratense L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.) andother clovers. Source the Danish Seed Council .In Denmark 80% of the total EU white clover seedproduction is produced, however, the production area inNew Zealand is approximately twice as big (8 .000 hectare)even it has decreased by 9 .000 hectare since 1993 . Alfalfa(Lotus sativa L.) is not grown for seed production in theNorthern European countries, whereas in France theproduction is increasing, and in 2000 the total alfalfa seedproduction area was 15 .118 hectare (Sicard, 2001) .Alfalfa is also grown for seed in Central Europeancountries such as Hungary.The most widely grown clover specie in Denmark is whiteclover whereas the Danish production of red cloveraccounts for less than 1% of the EU production. Theproduction area of the two clover species is shown in figure2. The average Danish seed yields in red clover and whiteclover are 485 and 483 kg hectare' respectively as a 10-year average.4000	-WMWAMW	 V-t Red clover + White clover -e- OthersFigure 2. Clover seed production area (hectare) inDenmark. The illustrated species are red clover(Trifolium pratense L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.)and other clovers . Source the Danish Seed Council .European Production and Research in RedCloverRed clover seed production in France is located in centralFrance where summers are mild with averagetemperatures of 19°C. Red clover is sown in August eitherin a pure stand or in a cover crop (Bouet and Sicard, 1997) .Defoliation is normally performed in spring of the seedproduction year in order to synchronise flowering withpollinator activities. The defoliated material is used forforage or it is finely chopped and left on the soil. Pests arecontrolled chemically and prior to harvest the crop isdesiccated. Average seed yields are 700 kg hectare' .In Denmark red clover is established in a spring barleycover crop, and clover is harvested only on 1-year stands .Establishment on 12 or 24 cm row distance does notinfluence seed yield. The vegetative development is oftenvery vigorous and lodging can be observed before harvest.A spring cut seems to prevent lodging without reducingseed yield and without delaying harvest. The crop is eitherdesiccated or swathed before harvest . In conventionalproduction weeds can be controlled either in theestablishment year, during winter or by mechanical weedcontrol (harrowing) in the spring of the seed productionyear. In most fields pests are controlled by 1-2 sprayings .In Sweden red clover is also established in a spring barleycover crop but in combination with meadow fescue(Festuca pratense Huds.). After red clover seed harvest thecrop is removed by a herbicide and the following yearmeadow fescue seed is harvested.WINTER 2002 * FSN 33Recently mixed cropping of red clover and timothy(Phleum pratense L.)for organic seed production has beentested in Norway in order to optimise timothy seed yieldson farms with no access to manure (Aamlid, 1999) . Highyields of red clover were obtained in the first year afterestablishment, however, the red clover was found tosuppress the timothy seed yield (in the second year afterestablishment) compared to a similar cropping systemusing white or alsike clover. These findings indicate thatred clover is able to provide significant amounts ofnitrogen for the successive crop. This is confirmed byongoing Danish research where red clover is used as agreen manure crop.Recent research activities have also shown that mixedcropping of red clover and a forage grass species sown forseed production may produce high forage yields in the firstyear after establishment (Deleuran and Boelt, 2000) . In thesecond year after establishment high grass seed yields maybe obtained.European Production and Research in WhiteCloverWhite clover is an important cover crop for  entuckybluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) in Denmark. Spring barley,white clover and  entucky bluegrass are spring sown andthe successive harvests are as follows:1.	year - spring barley2.	year - white clover seed3.	year -  entucky bluegrass4.	year -  entucky bluegrass.In Denmark this system is recognised as the mostsuccessful establishment method in  entucky bluegrass .White clover is sown at very low seeding rates, however,the white clover may establish so vigorous that especiallyamenity types of  entucky bluegrass may be suppressed .Defoliation of the white clover in the seed production yearwhen the first flower buds become visible is found toincrease the subse uent  entucky bluegrass seed yield .As for red clover, white clover seed is harvested only onone year stands. Establishment is performed in springbarley at seeding rates between 1-3 kg hectare' inconventional farming systems and a row distance of 12 or24 cm. Weeds are controlled in the spring barley cover cropor in winter prior to the seed harvest year. Pests (cloverseed aphids) may cause serious yield reduction and inconventional farming they are controlled by 1-2 sprayings .The crop is swathed approximately 24 days after main-pollination, and it is of outmost importance that is itswathed and wind-drowed in dry conditions. The completeharvest yield may be lost if the crop is swathed and left inthe field in wet and humid conditions .Organic white clover seed production seems to beextremely difficult. Research to identify the mainobstacles has been initiated and the preliminary resultsshow that the white clover seed weevil reduces seed yield34 FSN   WINTER2002in the range of 10-60% . However, the obtained yields areonly 20-30% of the normally obtained yield inconventional production. Seed yield, yield componentsand clover seed weevil intensity are monitored in organicfarmers fields to identify yield reducing factors andpossibly to suggest management strategies to improveyields. White clover seed production is tested in trials inFrance at the moment.European Production and Research in AlfalfaAlfalfa is an important crop seed crop in France (15 .118hectare). In the western part of France it is oftenestablished undersown in sunflower (Helianthus annuusL.), and alfalfa seed is harvested in 1-2 years afterestablishment (Bouchet, 1990). A forage cut is taken inspring in order to synchronise the reproductivedevelopment with pollinator activity. It is summari ed thatseed yield is strongly correlated with seeds per pod, andwith raceme and pod number (Hac uet, 1990). Theseyield components are optimised by the correctmanagement with respect to row spacing, time ofdefoliation and irrigation. Increasing temperatures in theinterval 20-26°C during anthesis increase seed yield,whereas high rainfall (  100mm) during anthesis reduceseed yield.In the years 1974-1984 experiments were carried out todetermine seed yield in alfalfa cultivars and to testdifferent cultivation techni ues (Nordestgaard, 1978,1985).  ields in the range of 840 - 1080 kg hectare' wereobtained on average of three experimental years and fivelocations. Germination percentage was between 90-93.However, in some trials seed yield failed more or less and itwas concluded that moderate to high seed yields dependedon successful pollination and moderate to lowprecipitation during flowering . At present alfalfa is notgrown for seed production in Denmark except for a feworganic fields.ReferencesAamlid, T. S. 1999. Organic seed production of timothy (Phleum pratenseL.) inmixed crops with clovers (Trifolium spp.). Proceedings of the FourthInternational Herbage Seed Conference Perugia, Italy, 1999, p28-33 .Boelt, B. & Deleuran, L. C. 2000. Organic forage seed production. Proceedingsthe 13  International IFOAM Scientific Conference, Basel, Schwei  . pp. 228-229.Bouchet,  . 1990. EEC Forage Legume Seed Production .  ournal of AppliedSeed production, 8: 52-53 .Bouet S, and Sicard, G. 1997. Trifolium pratenseL. (Red Clover) in France. In:Forage Seed Production 1 . temperate species . Ed.: Fairey, D. T. and Hampton,   .G. 377-384.Deleuran, L. C. and Boelt, B. 2000. Utili ation of forage cuts in organic grassseed production. Proceedings of the 18 ' General Meeting of the EuropeanGrassland Federation Aalborg, Denmark. pp. 552-555 .Hac uet,  . 1990. Genetic Variability and Climatic Factors Affecting LucerneSeed Production.  ournal ofApplied Seed production, 8 : 59-67 .Nordestgaard, A. 1978. Experiments on seed growing with cultivars of alfalfa	(, 1974-76. Tidsskrift for Planteavl 82 :343-347.Nordestgaard, A. 1985. Seed rate and row spacing when producing alfalfa seed.Tidsskrift forPlanteavl 89 :303-307.Sicard, G. 2001 . Personal communication.

EEC Forage Legume Seed Production .

Experiments on seed growing with cultivars of alfalfa (,

Genetic Variability and Climatic Factors Affecting Lucerne Seed Production.

Organic forage seed production.

Organic seed production of timothy (Phleum pratenseL.) in mixed crops with clovers (Trifolium spp.).

Seed rate and row spacing when producing alfalfa seed.

Trifolium pratenseL. (Red Clover) in France. In:

Utili ation of forage cuts in organic grass seed production.

Legume seed production and research in Europe

Legume seed production and research in Europe

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Organic Eprints