Rajah

Product Description

• Seed Agronomy Table

  Seeding Rate - Dryland (kg/ha)

  3 - 4

  Seeding Rate - High Rainfall/Irrigation (kg/ha)

  5 - 8

  Hard Seed Level Description

  Medium

  Waterlogging Tolerance

  Fair

  Leaf Type

  Medium

• Seed Treatment

  Goldstrike®

• Enterprises For This Seed

  Beef and Sheep

  Silage and Hay

  Viticulture and Horticulture

• Strengths

  Highly productive and suitable for grazing, silage or hay Can be grown in a short-term pasture mix Stoloniferous varieties have moderate drought tolerance and can maintain populations through the production of daughter plants Provides a valuable source of nitrogen for companion grasses or subsequent crops

• Limitations

  Susceptible to a range of fungal diseases Stock infertility can occur due to oestrogenic compounds present in most cultivars May cause bloat in grazing animals if dominant Relatively poor winter growth

• Plant Description
  Plant

  A herbaceous perennial or biennial legume, 50 to 75 centimetres tall with a strong, deep, extensively branched taproot.

  Stems

  Erect, hollow, hairy, leafy stems with 4 to 6 branches originate from a dense crown. Stoloniferous types are more persistent and tolerant of close grazing by sheep.

  Leaves

  Trifoliate on a slender stalk, oblong or oval shaped and hairy, with branched veins. Tetraploid types tend to have larger leaves than diploid types.

  Flowers

  Large sphere-shape, many small rose-coloured flowers clustered; brown and papery after seed set. Egg-shaped pods contain one seed.

  Seeds

  Kidney-shaped, can be yellow, brown or purple with a moderate level of hard seed present. Approximately equal to 600,000 seed per kilogram.

• Pasture Type And Use

  Red clover is a most productive, summer-active, forage legume for temperate areas. It is most nutritious for hay or silage production and well suited to cattle grazing. Associated with high levels of N fixation.

• Rainfall

  To be persistent and productive red clover requires an annual rainfall of at least 700 millimetres. Hardier stoloniferous varieties will persist and be productive in areas down to 600 millimetres annual average rainfall.

• Soils

  Performs best on well-drained fertile loamy soils of moderate to heavy texture. Tolerant of acid soils, however it performs best in a pH (water) range of 5.5 – 7.0. Moderate tolerance to soil aluminium. Does not thrive on poorly drained soils. Low tolerance to saline soils.

• Temperature

  Red clover can be found growing naturally between latitudes 30°N and 65°N. Tolerance to high or low temperatures reflects origin of parental material. Optimum growth occurs in the range 20 to 25°C.

• Establishment
  Companion Species

  Compatible with other temperate species, especially short and long rotation ryegrass, chicory. Potential to increase feed quality when sown with summer crops (e.g. maize).

  Sowing/Planting Rates In Mixtures

  2 to 5 kilograms per hectare. Ensure seed is Goldstrike® treated.

  Sowing/Planting Rates as Single Species

  3 to 8 kilograms per hectare. Ensure seed is Goldstrike® treated.

  Sowing Time

  Can be sown in autumn (early) or spring. There is a risk of frost damage to young plants if sown in autumn.

  Inoculation

  Treated. The use of Goldstrike® XLR8™ seed treatment is recommended to reduce damage from insects at seedling stages.

  Fertiliser

  Requires high levels of fertility for best performance. Major nutrient requirements are phosphorous, potassium, sulphur and molybdenum. Soil test results and local knowledge of soil type and fertiliser history should determine rates to be applied at sowing.

• Management
  Maintenance Fertiliser

  Adequate levels of phosphorous, potassium, sulphur and molybdenum should be maintained for optimum growth.

  Grazing/Cutting

  When grown for hay, cutting red clover at the early flowering stage (one quarter to one half in bloom) maximises the yield and feed value. Generally three cuts (subsequent cuts at one quarter bloom) of hay can be expected per year, provided there is adequate fertility and lenient grazing in the first year will enhance production and persistence (leave at least 5 centimetres of growth). Rotational grazing will improve persistence. Red clover is sensitive to set stocking for long periods. Avoid overgrazing in winter, as this will hasten the thinning of stands.

  Ability to Spread

  Red clover can spread through the actions of stock passing the hard seed.

  Weed Potential

  Low. Some potential to invade disturbed native vegetation.

  Major Pests

  Red legged earth mite, Pea aphid, blue oat mite and cut worms. Native bud worms (Heliothis), mirids and thrips can damage seed crops

  Major Diseases

  Red clover can be susceptible to a number of fungal diseases including root rot (Phytophtora ssp.), clover rot (Sclerotinia ssp.) and crown rot. (Fusarium spp.) Rust: Powdery mildew may be a problem in areas with high humidity and rainfall.

  Herbicide Susceptibility

  Red clover is sensitive to commonly used hormone type herbicides such as MCPA and 2,4-D. Herbicides containing 2,4-DB can be used.

• Animal Production
  Feeding Value

  High. Intake can still be quite high when digestibility is relatively low at advanced stage of growth. Tetraploids generally have higher digestibility and protein levels than diploids. High nutritive value: Silage has a high crude protein content of 16 to 20 per cent and a ME content of 10 to 12 megajoules per kilogram dry matter, depending on the growth stage at harvest.

  Palatability

  Highly acceptable forage to livestock either as hay, silage or grazed at a young leafy growth stage. Red clover silage has a higher level of palatability compared to grass silage, allowing for greater animal intake and animal production.

  Production Potential

  Under optimum growing conditions red clover peaks at 70 to 90 kilogram dry matter per hectare per day in spring and summer, dropping to 5 to 10 kilograms dry matter per hectare per day in winter.

  Livestock Disorders/Toxicity

  High oestrogen levels in some varieties can lead to a reduction in the fertility of stock grazing red clover at mating time. Bloat can be a risk particularly in cattle if grazing pure stands and may cause an increase in urinary calculi (clover stones) in sheep. Occasionally causes problems with red gut in sheep.

• Establishment Guarantee

  At S&W Seed Company Australia we're so confident about our seed genetics and seed quality, we will replace seed at half the original purchase price if it fails to establish satisfactorily in the first thirty days* Read more