‘Emerald’ crownvetch (Cornilla varia L.) and ‘Viking’ birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) were sod‐seeded into permanent bluegrass pastures. Three types of sod openers were evaluated along with the use of paraquat sprayed in a 15‐cm band over the seeded row to reduce competition from the existing sod. Forage production from these sod‐seeded treatments was compared with complete renovation and seeding to a mixture of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), ladino clover (Trifolium repens L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and to three rates of nitrogen topdressing on the undisturbed sward. All of the treatments significantly increased forage yields with annual applications of N at 448 kg/ha being the highest. However, such a practice is not economically practical at present. Sod‐seeding with crownvetch was as good as either complete renovation or 140 kg N/ha annually. Sod‐seeded trefoil was less productive but in the third year of the study it was higher yielding than complete renovation. Based on dry matter yields, birdsfoot trefoil and crownvetch offer good possibilities for improving permanent pastures production at minimum cost. These legumes can be seeded and the pasture fertilized in one trip over the field. Crownvetch is especially well suited to this type of seeding because of its spreading growth habit. The disk and disk‐spear openers were generally superior to the spear only. However, with crownvetch the spear plus paraquat was also satisfactory.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.