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Influence of Some Environmental and Management Factors on the Persistence of Ladino Clover in Association with Orchardgrass 1
Author(s) -
Blake Carl T.,
Chamblee D. S.,
Woodhouse W. W.
Publication year - 1966
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/agronj1966.00021962005800050009x
Subject(s) - persistence (discontinuity) , agronomy , irrigation , dactylis glomerata , interception , acre , biology , yield (engineering) , forage , poaceae , ecology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , metallurgy , engineering
The objectives of this study were to determine the influence of different cutting managements, irrigation, simulated drought, fungicide‐insecticide applications, and partial shade on the persistence of ladino clover grown in association with orchardgrass. Diseases and/or insects were dominant factors influencing persistence and yield of ladino clover. During the second and third years, clover produced three times more forage on areas treated annually with several fungicideinsecticide applications than on the untreated check. The only disease of any consequence noted on the ladino during the investigation was caused by an unidentified virus or viruses. Limited water supply appreciably reduced yield and persistence. Irrigated clover yielded only 15% as much in the third year as in the first year. A large reduction in yield was also noted under irrigation in the second year, which meant that factors other than moisture were responsible for the lack of persistence of ladino in the area. In addition, ladino was not shade tolerant. In mixture with orchardgrass, the ladino clover component was essentially eliminated in the middle of the second year when grown under slat houses which intercepted approximately one‐third of the incident light. Unshaded ladino grown with orchardgrass produced nearly 500 pounds per acre of clover in each of the second and third seasons. Orchardgrass was not affected by light interception under the same conditions. A defoliation schedule of cutting clover which was 6 inches tall to a height of 3/4 inch was more favorable for growth and persistence than either the more lenient schedule, 10 inches to 2 inches, or the more severe, 4 inches to 3/4 inch. Ladino clover produced the lowest yield under the drought conditions created by intercepting approximately 20 inches of the rainfall in combination with 4 inches to 3/4 inch cutting management system.