Susceptibility to Winter Injury and Some Other Characteristics in Ladino and Common White Clovers 1

Ware (6) found that variations in spread and vigor were greater between than within clonal lines of Ladino and white clovers. He noted also heritable variation in length of petioles, size of leaves, earliness and abundance of flowering, and general leanness. Ahlgren and Sprague (2) observed that the ability to spread rapidly was associated with increased size of plant parts and that these types were less dense in growth habit. "Giant" types similar to Ladino white clover were found in almost all of the eight commercial strains studied. Early flowering and an intermediate amount of flowering were found to be characteristic of Ladino white clover during the first summer. Differences among strains of white clovers have been studied. Knoll and Hermelink (5) observed Ladino clover to be winterinjured more severely than several strains of common white clover. However, several plants of the Ladino type sustained little injury. Dark green color, small plant parts, and dense growth patterns were characteristic of the more hardy plants. Aamodt et al. (1) noted that white clover strains from Wisconsin, Sweden, and Denmark were markedly superior in winter survival to strains from Poland, England, and New Zealand. 'Strains and plant differences in alfalfa with respect to factors of winter survival have been observed. Brink et al. (3) observed significant differences among strains in their ability to withstand a moderately severe ice sheet. Jones (4) pointed to the loss of plants the first year as principally due to their inherent