Page 17 - MWC 2-24-2022s

Time to Add Clovers to Your Pastures The Midwest Cattleman · February 24, 2022 · P17

By Paul Beck
Nitrogen fertilizer prices your site is also of great im- was compared
have reached over $750/ton portance. Arrowleaf clover is to bermudagrass
for urea (over 85¢/pound of highly productive in sandy fertilized with
N), with expectations that it loam soils while red clovers 0, 50, or 100
could reach over $1,000/ton. prefer loam to clay loam soil pounds of actual
This is a good time to consid- but neither thrives in poorly N per acre. For
er using legumes in our pas- drained soils. White clover each pound of
tures to replace N fertilizers. does well in poorly drained nitrogen, steer
Forage legumes can fix 50 to loam to clay loam soils. gain per acre
150 (or more) pounds of nitro- In some recent research, was increased Forage legumes can fix 50 to 150 (or more) pounds of nitrogen
gen from the air, depending interseeding white and red continued on from the air, depending on the density of the legume stand.
Clover plantings are often most successful when planting in
on the density of the legume clovers into bermudagrass page 31 late winter to early spring (February and early March).
stand. Clover plantings are
often most successful when
planting in late winter to
early spring (February and
early March), so it is time to
get this on your mind.
Clovers and most other
legumes require neutral pH
and proper soil phosphorus
and potassium. Hopefully,
you have been following Ex-
tension recommendations
and soil testing and correct-
ing pH and soil fertility is-
sues when fertilizers were
cheaper. If you are consid-
ering planting clovers, you
should first soil test the sites
you are considering planting.
Clovers do not fixate nitro-
gen as well in acid soils, so
pH> 6.0 is a must. If pH, P,
and K are adequate or easi-
ly corrected in some sites but
not others plant clovers in
the better sites. Then grass
should be grazed or mowed
closely, the reduction in plant
residue enables good seed to
soil contact for better germi-
nation and seedling survival.
Frost seeding of clovers
is very cheap and effective.
To do this, simply broadcast
seed onto the soil surface and
allow the freeze and thaw
cycles to incorporate it into
the soil through frost heave.
Success can be enhanced by
dragging pastures after you
broadcast the seed to get bet-
ter contact with the soil. If
using a no-till drill be sure
seed depth is right, these
small seeds should not be
planted more than ½ inch
deep. Planting equipment
should be calibrated to en-
sure the correct seeding rate.
Red clover should be planted
at 10 to 12 pounds per acre,
but white clover should only
be planted at 3 to 5 pounds
per acre.
Using high-quality seed of
a clover species adapted to