Legumes

White Clover
White Clover n - Tap rooted legume with a white flower with the abilty to fix atmospheric nitrogen

White clover is the most important pasture legume in New Zealand’s pastoral system and is present in most pastures and grazed rangeland. It is tolerant and persistent under a wide range of management systems, with a high feed value. Its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen makes a substantial contribution to the growth of companion grasses.

It is not very productive in winter (it stops growing when the temperature is less than 8°C) and summer droughts limit its period of maximum potential production. Spring management aimed at keeping pastures short and leafy is therefore important to maintain good clover content and to capitalise on its good growth and feed value in summer.

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Red Clover
Red Clover n - Tap rooted legume with a red flower

Red clover is a short lived perennial, which is more productive in a pure stand than white clover. Most red clover cultivars do not have stolons or rhizomes so they cannot reproduce vegetatively. It usually disappears from sheep pastures two or three years after sowing because it does not tolerate set stocking, and regular close defoliation does not allow reseeding.

In pastures grazed by cattle, plants from the initial sowing may persist for three or four years and if summer spelling from grazing is long enough, some seed may be set and some red clover can then persist in a permanent pasture through reseeding. Because of its long florets, red clover sets seed best where there are high populations of bumblebees.

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Subterranean Clover
Subterranean Clover n - An annual legume with the ability to bury its own seed

This is an annual species with a hairy, broad and heart shaped trifoliate leaves, with some distinctive leaf marks. After germinating in Autumn, the seedling rosettes produce long, horizontal stems during late winter and spring, which bear only 3 - 6 white florets in each flower head.

This legume is named for its ability to bury its seed. The seed heads bend down and the burrs are pushed into the soils surface after flowering, so it survives the summer as a seed. However, as an annual, the plant disappears from pastures during summer. The seeds germinate when rainfall resumes, but some can die during the subsequent dry spell (‘false strike’). The percentage of hard seed produced will influence a cultivar’s ability for ‘false strikes’.

Sub Clover is useful in dry East Coast regions, particularly in situations too dry for White Clover, where it can contribute more than 20% of the herbage. However, it is important to minimise grazing during flowering to allow maximum seed set and to use cultivars with an appropriate flowering time to ensure it sets seed prior to the dry summer.
 
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Strawberry Clover
Strawberry Clover n - A perennial legume that persists by both re - seeding and stolon growth

A prostrate, perennial legume that looks similar to White Clover as it also has prostrate, branched, creeping stolons. However, Strawberry Clover’s small trifoliate leaves are slender and quite pointed, and its small clover type flower heads are usually pink and resemble strawberry fruits. Strawberry Clover thrives on saline soils, usually close to the sea or river estuaries where it often replaces White Clover. Its sowing rate is usually 3 - 6 Kg / Ha and its seedling vigour is less than that of White Clover. It is recommended for use on soils that are too saline for White Clover.

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Caucasian Clover
Caucasian Clove n - Rhizomatous perennial clover

Caucasian Clover is a rhizomatous perennial clover that is persistent once established. It is usually slow to establish and requires careful management during this period. Once fully established, Caucasian Clover offers strong spring and summer growth and pest tolerance, but is winter dormant.

Caucasian Clover spreads through the sward by a vigorous network of underground rhizomes. This protects the growing points from overgrazing, treading, and high soil surface temperatures.

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Annual Clover
Annual Clover n - Annual legume with good summer performance

Annual Clover is native to countries such as Turkey, Iran and Iraq. It is bred for it’s performance in summer dry areas. Annual clover is a self-regenerating clover, with most growth occurring in spring. Most annual clovers, particularly Balansa produce seed profusely if given the chance. Balansa’s particularly hard seed will germinate in years to come, if allowed. They can be used as either a special purpose forage crop or in pasture seed mixes with Italian ryegrasses, cereals or brassicas as a self-regenerating and highly nutritive plant.

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Lucerne
Lucerne n - A high quality, deep tap rooting perennial legume

Lucerne is an erect growing, drought-tolerant, perennial legume commonly used in dryland pasture systems. Grown in pure stands, lucerne requires high fertiliser and often high pesticide rates to perform well. The species does not reseed itself easily and may persist from 4–8 years or more depending on the conditions. Lucerne is commonly used in dry regions to provide high quality pasture and hay during summer. It is dormant in winter and farmers usually spray stands at this time to control weeds. Resistance to bacterial wilt, stem nematode and aphids is commonly required in New Zealand cultivars.
 
Recent cultivars have resistance and tolerance to a wider range of pests and diseases, helping overcome on-farm problems. Lucerne is sown at 10 kg/ha and establishment can be a problem in some regions. Inoculate seed before sowing.
 
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Other Legumes

For cultivar information and availabilty of Other Legumes contact Smart.

Lotus Pendiculatus (Lotus Major)
Lotus Pedunculatus n. - Perennial five leaved legume that spreads and persists by creeping rhizomes

Lotus Corniculatus (Birdsfoot Trefoil)
Lotus Corniculatus n - Five leaved tap rooted legume with a seed head resembling a birds foot.

Lupins
Lupins n - A high yielding, persistent, perennial legume.

Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.)
Sulla n - A short lived, winter active, perennial legume.

Tic Beans
Tic Beans n - A short lived, high yielding legume.


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