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Production Papers

Forage Yield and Species Composition in Years following Kura Clover Sod-Seeding into Grass Swards

^a Dep. of Plant Sci., McGill Univ., Macdonald Campus, 21111 Lakeshore Rd., Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
^b Dep. of Agron. and Plant Genetics, Univ. of Minnesota, 1991 Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN 55108-6026

^* Corresponding author (philippe.seguin{at}mcgill.ca)

Received for publication March 9, 2005. Sod-seeding legumes into grass pastures improves forage productivity and quality, but legumes currently used lack persistence. Field experiments were established in Québec and Minnesota to compare postseeding year performance of two cultivars (‘Cossack’ and ‘Endura’) of Kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.) against that of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) sod-seeded using different intensities of herbicide sod suppression [paraquat (0.9 kg a.i. ha^–1) and glyphosate (0.8 or 3.3 kg a.i. ha^–1)] with or without seeding year N fertilization (110 kg N ha^–1). Red clover had the greatest yield and contribution to total forage yield in the first postseeding year [avg. 2.7 Mg dry matter (DM) ha^–1, 50% clover], white clover (WC) was intermediate (avg. 1.5 Mg DM ha^–1, 32% clover), and Kura clover (KC) ranked last (avg. 1.2 DM Mg ha^–1, 27% clover). Yields of KC were, however, similar to WC in three of five sites. Clover yields and content in the first postseeding year were positively associated with intensity of sod suppression. Kura clover content increased over time; at the first harvest of the second postseeding year, it had greater clover yield and content (avg. 750 kg DM ha^–1, 45% clover) than red clover (avg. 160 kg DM ha^–1, 25% clover) and WC (avg. 60 kg DM ha^–1, 11% clover). Seeding year N fertilization, which enhanced seeding year yields, had inconsistent effects on postseeding year yield and botanical composition but rarely had negative effects on clover. Kura clover can be established in permanent pastures via sod-seeding.

Abbreviations: DM, dry matter • GLYH, glyphosate high dose (3.3 kg a.i. ha^–1) • GLYL, glyphosate low dose (0.8 kg a.i. ha^–1) • KC, Kura clover • KCC, Kura clover cultivar Cossack • KCE, Kura clover cultivar Endura • MN, Minnesota • MN Mixed Grass 02, Minnesota mixed-grass site seeded in 2002 • MN Shortgrass 01, Minnesota shortgrass site seeded in 2001 • MN Tallgrass 01, Minnesota tallgrass site seeded in 2001 • PAR, paraquat (0.9 kg a.i. ha^–1) • QC, Québec • QC Tallgrass 01, Québec tallgrass site seeded in 2001 • QC Tallgrass 02, Québec tallgrass site seeded in 2002 • RC, red clover • WC, white clover