Four leaf clover6/6/2023 The grass/legume mixture combines fibrous surface roots with short tap roots. Mixed with annual ryegrass in a simulated rainfall study, crimson clover reduced runoff from the herbicide lactofen by 94 percent and norflurazon and fluometuron by 100 percent (346). The scavenging process, accomplished most effectively by grasses, helps reduce the potential for N leaching into groundwater during winter and spring (181, 265). Crimson clover adds to the soil organic N pool by scavenging mineralized N and by normal legume N fixation. ![]() These species are not pests of pecans, but provide alternative food for beneficial predators such as lady beetles, which later attack pecan aphids. Georgia research shows that crimson clover sustains populations of pea aphids and blue alfalfa aphids. In Michigan, crimson increased blueberry pollination when planted in row middles. The blooms may contain many minute pirate bugs, an important beneficial insect that preys on many small pests, especially thrips (422). They produce abundant nectar, and are visited frequently by various types of bees. Crimson clover has showy, deep red blossoms 1/2 to 1 inch long. In California, crimson clover is planted with rose clover and medics in orchards and nut groves to minimize erosion and provide some N to tree crops (422).īeneficial habitat and nectar source. An oats crop is a frequent companion, either as a nurse crop to establish a clear stand of crimson clover, or as a high-biomass, nutrient-scavenging partner. Crimson clover grows well in mixtures with small grains, grasses and other clovers. N/A and is recommended for soil erosion control because of its high early-autumn dry matter production (426).Īs a summer annual in lower Michigan, a midsummer planting of crimson clover seeded at 20 lb./A produced 1,500–2,000 lb. In field trials of six annual legumes in Mississippi, crimson clover was found to produce the most dry matter (5,600 to 6,000 lb./A) compared to hairy vetch, bigflower vetch, berseem clover, arrowleaf clover ( Trifolium vesiculosum) and winter peas. ![]() DM/A several times at a USDA-ARS site in Beltsville, MD., where it produced 180 lb. Crimson clover has produced more than 7,000 lb. The study concluded that crimson clover is one of several winter annual legumes that can provide adequate but not excessive amounts of N for southern grain sorghum production (22, 36, 105). In a Mississippi study, crimson clover had produced mature seed by April 21, as well as 5,500 lb. N/A by mid-May in Zone 8 (the inland Deep South). As a winter annual, crimson clover can produce 3,500 to 5,500 lb. Its winterkilled residue is easy to manage in spring.īiomass. Planted in late summer, it provides good groundcover and weed control as it fixes nitrogen from the atmosphere and scavenges nitrogen from the soil. Crimson clover often can survive winters throughout the lower reaches of Zone 6, especially from southeastern Pennsylvania northeast to coastal New England (195).Ĭrimson clover is gaining popularity as a winter-killed annual, like oats, in Zones 5 and colder. Hairy vetch is the less risky overwintering winter annual legume, here and in northern areas. One goal is to let the legume reseed yearly for no-cost, season-long erosion control, weed suppression and nitrogen banking for the next year.Īlong the northern edge of the “crimson clover zone,” winterkill and fungal diseases will be more of a problem. It is being tested extensively in no-till and zone-till systems. Crimson clover works especially well before grain sorghum, which is planted later than corn. Reseeding cultivars provide natural fertility to corn and cotton. ![]() In Hardiness Zone 8-the warmer half of the Southeast-crimson clover will overwinter dependably with only infrequent winterkill. Growers in the “crimson clover zone”-east of the Mississippi, from southern Pennsylvania and southern Illinois south-choose winter annual crimson clover to provide a strong, early N boost. Whether you use it as a spring or fall N source or capitalize on its vigorous reseeding ability depends on your location.
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