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The Response of White Clover Varieties Grown at High Elevations in Colombia
Author(s) -
Crowder Loy V.
Publication year - 1960
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1960.00021962005200100018x
Subject(s) - agronomy , white (mutation) , biology , gene , biochemistry
W clover (Trifolium repens L.) is found growing spontaneously at the high elevations in Colombia (5500 to 10,000 feet above sea level). It occurs in cultivated fields and wastelands, along roadways, in lawns and parks, and in natural and improved pastures. In many instances a pure stand of white clover appears after a cultivated crop or small grains, when these are well fertilized with phosphate. The plants thrive in soils with a pH of 5.0 or even less, probably because of the high base saturation and buffer capacity of the organic soils (8 to 20% organic matter). With adequate soil moisture the plants remain in a growing stage and are p roduc t ive throughout the year. Furthermore, flowers and seeds may be developed at all times of year, although these are more abundant in the dry season. Studies of collected material have shown that for the most part the plants are of the intermediate type and flower profusely. With the short day length (12 to 12l/2 hours throughout the year) there is a natural selection toward a flowering type, the number of flowers depending on the successive generations of seed production. A rather large number of varieties, which included the types (1) white dutch, (2) intermediate or Louisiana type, (3) ladino, and (4) polyploid, have been obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture and grown at several localities at the high elevations in Colombia. These were evaluated as solid seedings and as single plants. In general, the response has been similar at all experimental sites. The results of a part of these studies are shown in table 1. At the first harvest, the intermediate varieties generally exceeded the other types in seedling vigor and forage production. This was probably a response to temperature (air temperature fluctuated between 28 and 70° F., with an average of 56°) and day length. After the ladino and polyploid varieties became established, they equaled the intermediate varieties in plant growth and forage production, and with sufficient soil moisture continued to yield at a high level. Production of the intermediate types deTable 1—Response of several white clover varieties to conditions of the high elevations in Colombia (8600 feet above sea level). the