The Effect of Rate of Planting on Yields of Adapted and Unadapted Red Clover 1

N conducting experiments comparing varieties, strains, or seed I sources of red clover differing in adaptation to the environment, the establishment of uniform initial complete stands and the harvesting of weed-free forage are necessary prerequisites in order to obtain reliable comparisons. In general the acquiring of such uniform stands is facilitated by relatively high seeding rates which in turn reduces the prevalence of weeds. Variation in adaptation among individual plants has occurred within every strain or seed source of red clover that has been studied. This is to be expected since red clover is in a hybrid state because of self sterility. In addition the heterozygosity in red clover is perpetuated by promiscuous insect cross pollination. The question arose as to whether heavy seeding rates might increase the surviving proportion of more nearly adapted plants from a relatively unadapted source to the extent of leveling off differences in plot yields between adapted and unadapted strains. Consequently, this experiment was undertaken to determine whether seedings slightly higher than normally recommended would provide comparable initial stands, eliminate the error associated with the prevalence of weeds, and maintain the same relative differences in yields of adapted and unadapted red clover seed.