Clover inoculate ?

4wanderingeyes

5 year old buck +
If you are planting clover in a spot that has never had clover, do you need to inoculate the seed?
 
If you are planting clover in a spot that has never had clover, do you need to inoculate the seed?

Depends why you are planting the clover. Inoculation does nothing to improve germination. It does help the clover fix more N from the air. Much of the clover seed today is coated and pre-inoculated. So, if I were planting an annual clover like Crimson in a field where it had never been planted and my purpose was primarily to bank N for the following crop, I would inoculate. If I'm planting a perennial clover plot for deer, I would probably not inoculate. The N will encourage grasses to benefit in your clover and N will still build over time without inoculation. If I were planting a perennial clover/chicory mix, I could go either way. N will benefit the chicory as well as invading grasses.

Thanks,

Jack
 
As Yoder said; inoculate doesn't help the clover grow or germinate but it does help it fixate nitrogen.

I like to overseed wheat and winter rye into my clover/chicory plots in the fall so some added nitrogen is welcome. During the summer when crabgrass and foxtail is sprouting up in my clover the nitrogen isn't so welcome...
 
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