• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.995-1002
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• 2008

Kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.) is a rhizomatous perennial legume that has potential as a forage crop in the North-Central USA because of its excellent persistence under environmental extremes. Little information is available about defoliation effects on productivity of mixtures of kura clover with grasses typically grown in this region. Two field trials were conducted to evaluate the effects of defoliation management on yield and species composition of binary mixtures of 'Rhizo' kura clover with 'Comet' orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), 'Badger' smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), 'Park' Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), and solo-seeded kura clover near Arlington, WI. Three harvest schedules (three, four, or five times annually) and two cutting heights (4 or 10 cm) were imposed. Infrequent defoliation and lower cutting height produced significantly greater total forage yield, 6.6, 5.8, and 5.2 Mg/ha in 3-, 4-, and 5-harvest systems, respectively; and 6.5 and 5.2 Mg/ha for the 4- and 10-cm cutting height, respectively. Averaged over 3 yr and two environments, mixtures had higher forage productions than solo kura clover (6.3, 5.7, and 6.0 Mg/ha for the Kentucky bluegrass, orchardgrass, and smooth bromegrass mixtures, respectively; compared to 5.2 Mg/ha for solo kura clover). The proportion of kura clover in mixtures increased from yr 1 to yr 2 and was constant from yr 2 to yr 3 (34, 58, and 57%, respectively). We conclude that kura clover has excellent potential as a long-term component of grass-legume mixtures regardless of the cutting height, harvest frequency or grass species, even though the proportion of kura clover in harvested forage was significantly greater with less frequent harvest and shorter cutting height of all mixtures.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.690-694
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• 2006

There is limited information on the relationship between defoliation and root and rhizome development of kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.). To determine the effects of defoliation severity on root and rhizome growth of young kura clover plant (seedling about 8 wk old), this research was conducted in 2002 (Experiment 1) and 2003 (Experiment 2) in a glasshouse at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Four kura clover entries were used in this experiment: two were started from seed materials (ARS-2678 and 'Rhizo') and two were clones from mature, field-grown Rhizo kura clover plant. Three defoliation frequencies (2-, 4- and 6-wk intervals) and two defoliation intensities (complete and partial defoliation) were imposed on each of the four kura clover entries. Root, rhizome, and leaf dry matter (DM) generally increased with less frequent defoliation, however, the increase in rhizome DM was not significant between 4- or 6-wk defoliation periods. The root and leaf DM under complete defoliation (CD) were significantly lower than under partial defoliation (PD). In Exp. 1, rhizome DM was not significantly different between CD and PD; it was significantly lower under CD in Exp. 2. ARS-2678 showed excellent root development characteristics, however, its rhizome DM was significantly lower than Rhizo clones. The rhizome development from Rhizo clones was greater than that from seed materials. If maximum root and rhizome growth are expected from young kura clover plant, the intensity and frequency of defoliation should be minimized or defoliation should be avoided.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.344-350
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• 2011

Kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb.) is a potentially useful perennial legume because of its excellent nutritive value and persistence under environmental extremes. However, information about forage quality of kura clover - grass mixtures adapted to the North-Central USA is limited. Objectives of this research were to determine forage nutritional value of kura clover-grass mixtures under different harvest frequency and cutting height regimes. 'Rhizo' kura clover was grown alone and in binary mixtures with 'Park' Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), 'Comet' orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), and 'Badger' smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station located near Madison, WI. Three harvest frequencies ($3{\times}$, $4{\times}$, or $5{\times}$ annually) and two cutting heights (4- or 10-cm) were imposed on each binary mixture and on kura clover grown alone. Higher nutritive value was observed in the binary mixtures with more frequent harvest and lower cutting height. Averaged over 3 years and all harvest frequency and cutting height treatments, the nutritive value of the Kentucky bluegrass and smooth bromegrass mixtures was superior to that of the orchardgrass mixture ($410\;g\;kg^{-1}$ NDF and $194\;g\;kg^{-1}$ CP in the Kentucky bluegrass mixture; $405\;g\;kg^{-1}$ NDF and $188\;g\;kg^{-1}$ CP in the smooth bromegrass mixture; $435\;g\;kg^{-1}$ NDF and $175\;g\;kg^{-1}$ CP in the orchardgrass mixture). All of the mixtures and harvest management systems evaluated in this study produced forage with quality equivalent to "grade one" alfalfa hay and suitable for highproducing livestock, even though the highest quality was observed in the Kentucky bluegrass mixture with $5{\times}$ harvesting at the shorter cutting height.