Association between growth habit and persistence in red clover

Summary

Three double-cut red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) varieties: Prosper I, Florex, and Tristan each with two different seedlots were space-planted in a field. The total number of plants established for each seedlot was about 900. In the seedling year, plants were classified into five growth types according to rosette development and flower production. In the fall of the third year 14% of the rosette-forming, non-flowering Type 1 plants were alive; 8–11% of the intermediate types survived; and only 2% of the nonrosette-forming, profusely flowering Type 5 plants remained growing. The non-flowering class (Types 1 and 2) persisted better than the flowering class (Types 3, 4, and 5). This difference in persistence was similar for all three varieties regardless of seed source. The two flowering classes, in the production years, had the same proportion of the most vigorous plants. The most vigorous plants of the non-flowering class had the same frequency distribution of seed yield as those of the non-flowering class. In conclusion, the flowering response can be used as a selection criterion for persistent plants; and plants not flowering in the seedling year can attain a forage and seed yield as high as flowering plants in the production years. Screening for non-flowering plants can be carried out at the seedling stage in the greenhouse before seedlings are transplanted to the field.