Preliminary assessment of bladder clover (Trifolium spumosum L.) as an annual legume for ley farming systems in southern Australia

Abstract

Trifolium spumosum L. (bladder clover) is an aerial seeding annual legume that is adapted to fine-textured soils throughout the Mediterranean Basin. This article is the first of two papers that describe the process of domestication of T. spumosum as a new species to commercial agriculture. This paper describes a broad range of investigations into the ecology, agronomy and rhizobiology of this new species. Through a series of five experiments, we have tested the general hypothesis that T. spumosum accessions demonstrate a range of sought-after agronomic traits and offer an alternative to annual Medicago spp. for ley farming systems in the medium to low rainfall areas of the mixed crop/livestock zone of southern Australia. T. spumosum presents seeds at the top of the canopy in heads that do not readily shatter, so seed can be harvested using conventional cereal harvesters instead of the specialist suction equipment required for harvest of seed from annual T. subterraneum and Medicago spp. T. spumosum was found to be relatively fecund and had high levels of biomass production in comparison to the other annual legumes that were tested. The species also demonstrated high levels of within-season hardseededness (remaining hard in summer and softening in autumn) so seedbanks would be protected from summer rainfall events. In addition, T. spumosum showed high levels of between-season dormancy, which allows the species to carry a seedbank through a cropping phase or series of poor seasons. A herbicide experiment showed that clover species varied in tolerances, with T. spumosum the least sensitive of all of the legumes tested to Flumetsulam. A cross-inoculation experiment to measure symbiotic effectiveness revealed that WSM1325 (current clover strain) surpasses WSM409 (previous strain) in its relationship with the annual clovers of contemporary interest, while being highly effective at nitrogen fixation with T. spumosum. The results of this study and an associated investigation into feeding value indicate that T. spumosum offers a productive alternative to annual Medicago spp. on fine-textured soils. Of the T. spumosum accessions tested, the most promising has been released under the cultivar name of AGWEST Bartolo.

Polyphenolic composition and antioxidant capacity of legume‐based swards are affected by light intensity in a Mediterranean agroforestry system

“…It is worth highlighting that bladder clover (100BCLO) is a very promising aerial seeding annual legume, which represents a productive alternative to annual Medicago spp. in fine‐textured Mediterranean soils . To our knowledge, this is the first reported chemical characterization of T. spumosum shoot.…”

“…in fine-textured Mediterranean soils. 52 To our knowledge, this is the first reported chemical characterization of T. spumosum shoot.…”

Populations of two annual clover species evolved in response to 13 years of grazing management and phosphate fertilizer application

“…This favours traits such as early flowering, high fecundity and high levels of seed dormancy (Loi, Howieson, Nutt, & Carr, 2005;Loi, Nutt, Howieson, Yates, & Norman, 2012;Norman et al, 2005;Norman, Cocks, Smith, & Nutt, 1998). They require a ruderal-type reproductive strategy that accommodates a series of seasons where crops are grown, prior to regeneration from the seedbank.…”

Important ecological traits for selecting Biserrula pelecinus L. (biserrula) genotypes for their potential introduction into agricultural systems

“…Casbah was the first biserrula cultivar released within the research activity of the Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) and, soon after, the National Annual Pasture Legume Improvement Program (NAPLIP) released the cultivar Mauro (Loi et al ., , ). Of late, biserrula has become an important companion plant with other pasture legumes such as serradella and subterranean clover in Western Australia and New South Wales farming systems (Loi et al ., ).…”