Performance of Empire and Viking Birdsfoot Trefoil Lotus corniculatus L. in Simple Pasture Mixtures.

Abstract

Compatibility and dry matter yields of fourteen simple birdsfoot trefoil mixtures and one complex pasture mixture were studied under two systems of harvest in a field experiment at Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. The legume component of the simple mixtures was increased after the first harvest in the season. Simple birdsfoot trefoil mixture produced more dry matter than the complex pasture mixture and ‘Empire' birdsfoot trefoil was more compatible and higher in yield in association with Kentucky bluegrass and timothy than with other grasses. ‘Viking birdsfoot trefoil was more compatible and gave a higher yield in orchardgrass associations under a three-harvest system and in smooth bromegrass association under a four-harvest system than with other grasses or systems of management. ‘Viking’ birdsfoot trefoil associations on the average, were more productive than ‘Empire’ birdsfoot trefoil associations. The simple mixture yielded more than the grasses alone except bromegrass and Orchardgrass under four harvests and tall fescue under three harvests in one year only.