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 Leguminous Forage Crops

Common Name:

 White Clover

Latin Name:

 Trifolium repens

Variety:

 Dutch

Crop Origin:

 Mediterranean area

Type:

 Perennial Forage

Date Planted:

 24 June, 2003

Growth Stages in Ohio

White Clover Jan 1 06.JPG (2879832 bytes) White clover feb 6 06.JPG (1549132 bytes) White Clover March 4 06.JPG (3504757 bytes) White Clover Apr 4 06.JPG (3412115 bytes) White Clover May 5 06.JPG (2782572 bytes) White Clover 3 June 05.JPG (3544945 bytes)
January February March April May June
White clover 1 July 05.JPG (3948995 bytes) White clover 7aug05.JPG (2651514 bytes) White clover 3 sep 05.JPG (2519930 bytes) White clover 1 oct 05.JPG (2577024 bytes) White clover 4 Nov 05.JPG (2854176 bytes) White clover 2 dec 05.JPG (3818709 bytes)
July August

September

 October November December

Cultivation in Ohio

Primary Uses:

 Forage

 Planting:

 White Clover can be frost seeded into existing grass pastures.  This requires that seeding be done while the soil contains frost. Delaying seeding until mid-morning when the soil surface has become slippery will result in poor stand establishment.

 Seeding Rate:

 2 lbs/acre for pure stands.

Fertility:

 It grows best on well-drained, fertile soils with a pH between 6 and 7.  Starter fertilizer application of up to 20-60-20 lb/acre will assist in white clover establishment.  In absence of a soil test, apply 0-60-145 lb/acre yearly to established stands.

Insects:

  

Diseases:

  

Harvest:

 White clover can be grazed continuously or rotationally.  Closely grazed plants must be allowed to recover.  

Comments:

 In predominantly white clover pastures, bloat can be a problem.

Identification

Leaf:

  White clover leaf.jpg (1393842 bytes) White clover plant.JPG (2216507 bytes)

Flower:

  white clover flower.jpg (1461857 bytes)

Seeds:

 White_Clover_seed.JPG (1224136 bytes) White_Clover_seedhead.JPG (1809552 bytes)

Distribution:

 White Clover distribution map.jpg (30908 bytes)

More Information

Links:

 http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/plant_profile.cgi?symbol=TRRE3 
http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs412/forageID.htm 
http://cropsoil.psu.edu/Extension/Facts/agfact22.pdf