New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts
Trifolium ambiguum (Caucasian clover) in montane tussock grasslands,
South Island, New Zealand
R. F. WOODMAN
AgResearch
Invermay Agricultural Centre
Private Bag 50034
Mosgiel, New Zealand
Present address: 8 Beaconsfield Road, Portobello, Dunedin, New
Zealand.
Abstract A field experiment was conducted at nine montane
tussock grassland sites forming toposequences of soil temperature, moisture,
and fertility in the southern Mackenzie Basin, South Island, to characterise
the adaptational range and development dynamics of the above- and below-ground
growth of Trifolium ambiguum cv. Endura under different defoliation
treatments over a two-year period. Successful establishment, high productivity,
and survival occurred on lower slopes and mid-altitude north-facing slopes, but
this cultivar appears unsuited to mid-altitude, shady aspects with dense
Agrostis capillaris cover, and at higher elevation, tall-tussock sites.
Plant growth in the establishment year was mostly confined to primary crown and
taproot/fibrous root growth, although early rhizome development occurred in
plants on the lower sunny slopes. In the second year, growth was characterised
by crown and rhizome shoots during spring and summer and by the expansion of
the below-ground rhizome/root components in summer and autumn. In Year 3, of
the below-ground components, only secondary rhizomes and secondary taproots
were active centres of growth. Plant survival and all below-ground components
declined where defoliation occurred in spring and throughout the growing season
in Year 2. Defoliation treatments did not affect the below-ground components in
Year 3. The potential of T. ambiguum as a pasture legume in these
environments is discussed.
Keywords aerial shoots; Caucasian clover; defoliation;
establishment; growth dynamics; Kura clover; montane tussock grassland;
persistence; rhizomes; roots; Trifolium ambiguum; season
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 1999, Vol. 42: 207-222
0028-8233/99/4203-0207 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
1999
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1316K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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