The effect of variety and fertilizer nitrogen level on red clover production |
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Authors: | J. FRAME R. D. HARKESS I. V. HUNT |
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Affiliation: | West of Scotland Agricultural College, Auchincruive, Ayr |
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Abstract: | Established swards of two diploid and two tetraploid red clover varieties sown pure received 0, 75, 150, 225 or 300 kg ha?1 N fertilizer and were cut three times in June, August and October 1971. The total yields of herbage DM for red clover varieties ranged from 8.01 to 11.32 t ha?1; swards sown with tetraploids Hungaropoly and Hera Pajbjerg were superior by 25% in DM yield and 23% in CP yield. The red clover contribution to these total yields of DM ranged from 6.05 to 10.69 t ha?1; tetraploid clovers outyielded diploids by 42% in DM yield and 39% in CP yield. The mean effect of N level on yield and on compositional attributes was slight. Total yields of herbage DM, averaged over all varieties, ranged from 9.50 to 10.22 t ha?1 and of total herbage CP from 1.76 to 1.91 t ha?1. The influence of N level on the red clover contribution was negligible. DM yields ranged from 8.54 to 8.72 t ha?1 and CP yields from 1.60 to 1.64 t ha?1. Superiority of tetraploid clovers over diploids was again confirmed. Red clover swards sown pure can give high yields without the application of fertilizer N. |
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