White clover (Trifolium repens)

Kathi McDonald (nee Davies), DAFWA

Features
stoloniferous perennial legume with white owers palatable and very high feed quality suited to a wide range of soils low drought tolerance limited to irrigated and high rainfall pastures in WA. White clover is a herbaceous perennial legume that reproduces from seed as well as vegetatively from stolons. It is most likely native to Mediterranean Europe and has been used as a pasture legume in both Europe and the British Isles for centuries. It is widely sown throughout the world and has become naturalised in temperate and sub-tropical climates in all States of Australia where the rainfall exceeds 600 mm. An estimated six million hectares of pastures contain white clover in Australia, predominantly in the eastern States. The potential role and adaptive range in WA is limited to high rainfall and irrigated dairy pastures in the south-west. It has been estimated that only 1% of the agricultural area is climatically suited to white clover. White clover has been grown successfully in irrigated dairy pastures and on the sandy soils of the south-west coastal plain. However, it has low drought and heat tolerance and a tendency to disappear from pastures when not managed correctly. In marginal environments, white clover behaves as an annual, regenerating each autumn from seed.

Seasonal growth pattern

Description prostrate legume with runners (stolons) radiating from the crown and rooting at the nodes stems and trifoliate leaves are hairless leaets are oval or heart-shaped and may or may not have light crescent markings on the upper surface depending on the variety ower head is round and prominent. It contains 30-40 white or pink owers which mature to small oblong pods enclosing 3-4 yellow, tan or brown, egg or heart-shaped seeds seed count is 1.4-1.6 million/kg. maximum rooting depth is ~1.2 m, although it is usually <1.0 m, with most of the roots in the top 30 cm.

Herbaceous perennial legumes

Soilclimate adaptation Rainfall: >700 mm or irrigation Minimum growing season: >8 months Drought tolerance: Low Frost tolerance: High Soil type: All except deep sands Soil fertility requirements: Good supply of P and K Soil pHCa: >4.5-7.5 (optimum >5.5) Aluminium tolerance: Moderate Waterlogging tolerance: Moderate Salt tolerance: Nil to slight (50% production at 2.7-3 dS/m) Nutritive value DMD: 64-82% Crude protein: 12-27%

The white clover seedling develops an extensively branched tap-root system, but this primary root system is typically shed during or before the second summer after planting. New plants with a mixture of (semi-) tap-roots and adventitious roots develop from the nodes on the stolons. This is the mechanism by which white clover persists as a perennial. However, because the secondary root system is shallow, from year 3 the white clover stand is vulnerable to moisture stress. Under hot, dry conditions the plants die back to the stolons, but with prolonged summer drought the stolons die. Persistence of the stand then relies on regeneration from seed reserves in the soil the following autumn.

Establishment
White clover is normally sown at rates of 1-4 kg/ha as part of a mixture or 4-5 kg/ha when sown alone. It can be established in autumn with temperate perennial grasses or in spring with warm season grasses like paspalum or kikuyu. Seed should be inoculated with Group B Rhizobium and lime pelleted and then sown into a rm, level, weedfree seedbed no deeper than 10 mm. White clover seedlings are susceptible to redlegged earth mite and cutworm caterpillars, so a residual insecticide should be applied at seeding.

owering over summer when the conditions are mild and moist. Growth is depressed at high temperatures (>35C), due to moisture stress, which is induced by the excessive transpiration demand and the inability of the soil to supply adequate water even under irrigation. In autumn there is a second smaller ush of vegetative growth. There is relative dormancy in winter especially where cold conditions prevail. White clover is winter hardy and frost tolerant but has poor growth when the soil temperature is <5C. It prefers mild temperatures with maximum growth at 20-25C. In high rainfall coastal areas or under irrigation white clover can grow throughout the year.

White clover-kikuyu pasture on the Swan Coastal Plain

Herbaceous perennial legumes

White clover sward

Livestock disorders
Bloat can be a problem in clover dominant pastures, especially in early spring before owering. White clover contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can potentially cause cyanide (prussic acid) poisoning. All varieties have low concentrations of oestrogen.

White clover is susceptible to blue-green aphids. To minimise damage the pasture should be grazed hard as the aphid numbers build up. White clover is susceptible to two main viruses, rugose leaf curl virus and white clover mosaic virus.

Companion species
In suitable areas, white clover can be sown in mixtures with perennial ryegrass, cocksfoot, phalaris or tall fescue, or with warm season grasses such as kikuyu, Rhodes grass and paspalum.

Management
White clover withstands close grazing and is valuable for all classes of livestock. White cloverbased pastures should be kept short (8-15 cm) to minimise shading. They respond well to regular topdressing with superphosphate. Old pastures in which the white clover has become sparse can be pasture fallowed (companion grasses allowed to become rank) over summer to stimulate stolon extension and improve spread, or alternatively they can be reseeded in autumn at 1-2 kg/ha with an application of superphosphate.

Cultivars
There are many cultivars categorised in terms of leaf size and stolon density (Table 1). The smallleaf types are better suited to close grazing by sheep, while the large-leaf types are more suitable for cattle.

Herbaceous perennial legumes

Leaf size
Large Large

Stolon density
Low Low

Notes
Winter-active, late owering, suited to irrigated dairy pastures Suited to irrigated dairy pastures

Large Large

Low Low

Broad adaptation and winter-activity Widely used in the US. It has good early growth, but is a short-lived forage type which requires irrigation to persist over summer Selection from Haifa Selection from Ladino Winter-active, with good spring, early summer production Erect variety with good spring, summer production Good autumn, winter production suitable for rotational grazing with cattle Alternative to Haifa with good cool season growth

Super HaifaA Super LadinoA WaverleyA Will Ladino (public variety) Grasslands ChallengeA Grasslands NusiralA TributeA Grasslands SustainA Grasslands BountyA Grasslands Huia (public variety) Mink A Super HuiaA TributeA Grasslands DemandA Grasslands PrestigeA Grasslands TahoraA

Large Large Large Large Mediumlarge Mediumlarge Mediumlarge Mediumlarge Medium Medium

Low Low Low Low Medium

High

Medium

Good autumn, winter growth

High

Good autumn, winter, spring production suitable for rotational grazing Good autumn production Developed in NZ from local ecotypes, and is adapted to moist, temperate climates. Low winter-activity. It was the most widely sown variety worldwide, now superseded Selection from long-term pastures previously sown to Irrigation Selection from Huia Good autumn, winter growth and foliar disease resistance High persistence and suited to set-stocking with sheep. Good spring, summer production Good winter, spring, summer production with good pest and disease resistance Dense prostrate growth habit suitable for close grazing by sheep. Low winter-activity Very early owering, behaves as an annual pasture under dry conditions

Medium Medium

Medium

Medium

Medium Medium Mediumsmall Mediumsmall Small

Medium Medium Medium

Medium

Medium

Prop (public variety)

Small

Medium

Source: Moore, G, Sanford, P & Wiley, T 2006, Perennial pastures for Western Australia, Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, Bulletin 4690, Perth.