HOW TO ESTABLISH WHITE CLOVER

CLOVER CAN be established on your farm using two methods: Direct reseeding and Over-sowing.

DIRECT RESEEDING

Key steps involved in a full reseed ÷Analyse a representative sample of soil for P, K and pH; if ploughing take sample subsequent to doing so; ÷Spray off the old pasture with a minimum of 5 litres per ha of Glyphosate; allow 7 - 10 days after spraying before cultivating; ÷Avoid ploughing too deep (15 cm) as it can reduce soil fertility; ÷Prepare a fine, firm seedbed and apply lime, phosphate and potash as per soil test results; ÷Sow perennial ryegrass (27-34 kg/ha) and white-clover (1-2 kg/ha) seed mix; ÷Avoid sowing clover seed too deep as have poor seed reserved – approx. 10mm; ÷Ideally cover seeds and roll well to ensure good contact between the seed and the soil.

OVER-SOWING

Over-sowing is a simple and low-cost method of introducing white clover onto your farm.

Success is very much dependent on weather conditions around sowing; therefore there is a certain amount of risk associated with this approach. Key steps involved with over-sowing white clover; ÷When over-sowing, the clover seed can be broadcast onto the sward or stitched in using a suitable machine ÷Best practice is to over-sow directly after grazing (<4 cm post-grazing sward height) or as after cutting the paddock for surplus bales – it is not recommended to over-sow clover into dedicated silage paddocks; ÷A slightly higher seeding rate (3.5 to 5kg/ha) is recommended for over-sowing compared to a full reseed, to overcome the issues with slugs and a lower germination rate; ÷Sow with a fertilizer that contains P fertiliser as this will favour establishment particularly is soil fertility is poor ÷1 bag of 0-7-30 or 0-10-20/acre ÷If possible reduce N fertiliser post over-sowing; ÷Soil contact post sowing is one of the most crucial factors effecting germination ÷Roll paddocks post sowing to ensure soil contact ÷Apply watery slurry (if available) – ideally around 2000 gals/acre; ÷Ideally over-sow on well managed grassland – not suitable on old ‘butty’ swards with a low content of perennial ryegrass – if this is the case a full reseed is best practice.

White clover can play a significant role in increasing animal performance (+40kg milk solids/cow) and herbage production (+900kg DM/ha) and a potential reduction in chemical N fertiliser.

To avail of this potential benefit white clover can be established by two methods, a full reseed or over-sow.

However, for either method to be successful soil fertility must first be increased to index 3 for P and K and a soil pH of 6.3, if soils are suboptimal.

For full reseeding, white clover sowing rate should be 1 to 2 kg/ha, it is very important that seed is not buried too deep and a good soil seed contact is established. In an over-sowing scenario the white clover sowing rate should be 3.5 to 5kg/ha, and again, good soil seed contact is essential.

It is best to carry out over-sowing after a tight grazing or a surplus cut of silage in the months of April to early August to ensure adequate soil temperature for seed germination.