New Type of Clover

[shawnv]

It would appear it can handle less than ideal ground but it is not real drought tolerant. They rated it as a 6 for drought tolerance.

"Biomass production is directly correlated with rainfall for this species due to its shallower rooting structure, it really needs to be grown in areas that receive at least 17"+ rainfall. "

 

[wiscwhip]

For this reason, balansa clover in general, not just the Fixation cultivar, is not suited for deep sands either.

 

[BJE80]

I would love to do a side by side comparision with aslike and see which one the deer prefer.

 

[Terrific_tom]

It would appear it can handle less than ideal ground but it is not real drought tolerant. They rated it as a 6 for drought tolerance.

"Biomass production is directly correlated with rainfall for this species due to its shallower rooting structure, it really needs to be grown in areas that receive at least 17"+ rainfall. "

Shawn it says it is very drought tolerant with deep tap root. Looking at that picture it is doing a lot better than the crimson clover. If it gets as thick as it claims I would think that it would do very well in dought years. I wonder what the rest of the clover drought ratings are?

 

[wiscwhip]

Not a cure all for Juneau County ;)

That said, in looking at the pics of balansa and crimson side by side I'm kind of surprised. Crimson did "okay" for me in Juneau County...better than any red or white I tried anyway.

Believe me stu, I checked into every kind of clover I could find when we had land there, some you couldn't even get in this country. Pretty much why balansa wasn't "new" to me. I had looked into it many years ago when the only real seed producer was in Oregon and the only seller was there as well. Apparently, it has done well enough to justify someone spending time and money to create improved cultivars. They have many cultivars in Australia and New Zealand, they plant a ton of it down under. This new stuff I think has a deeper root system than the standard balansa clover. If a guy could get it to start well in the fall and had an easy winter, come spring, it may have sent a taproot deep enough to make it through the hot July sun. It would be especially hard to not try this in a shaded area on sand, as it says it tolerates shade. It might not be all that bad if you could get it in exactly the right conditions.

 

[shawnv]

Shawn it says it is very drought tolerant with deep tap root. Looking at that picture it is doing a lot better than the crimson clover. If it gets as thick as it claims I would think that it would do very well in dought years. I wonder what the rest of the clover drought ratings are?

I'm not sure needing 17" of rain and a rating of 6 makes it drought tolerant.

This is where I got that info from...

https://greencoverseed.com/species/1088

 

[BJE80]

I'm not sure needing 17" of rain and a rating of 6 makes it drought tolerant.

This is where I got that info from...

https://greencoverseed.com/species/1088

From your link:

"This species is well suited for heavy clay, wet soils than most other legumes species."

 

[wiscwhip]

I love the pic of the large "clump" of clover growing with the bare dirt around it. A half dozen of those strategically placed near a treestand to get the deer to pause and grab a snack would be killer.

 

[BJE80]

I'd be awfully surprised if this stuff didn't beat the alsike for preference. I've planted alsike a number of times on several different properties and it got minimal usage everywhere I tried it. I pretty much decided I'd rather not plant clover than mess around with alsike. I'm sure others have different experiences, just sharing mine.

Maybe that is where it got its name from. Aslike = tastes like a$$.

 

[shawnv]

I'm sure a number of us will give it a try this year so by next year we'll know if it was all hype or not or somewhere in between. I'm sure some BOB food plot companies are salivating right now because this is something new they can offer in an over saturated market.

 

[j-bird]

This stuff is an annual that grows 3 feet tall and a length of 8 feet? It isn't a clover.....it's a shrub! In all honesty if the data is true I don't see how it could do well in a mixture - it would smother everything else out! You better hope the deer like it because your going to have a lot of it if they don't.

 

[Terrific_tom]

This stuff is an annual that grows 3 feet tall and a length of 8 feet? It isn't a clover.....it's a shrub! In all honesty if the data is true I don't see how it could do well in a mixture - it would smother everything else out! You better hope the deer like it because your going to have a lot of it if they don't.

I don't think it is an annual

 

[wiscwhip]

Balansa clover is an annual. This variety just happens to be a prolific reseeder and can over winter in some areas under some fairly harsh conditions, not many annual clovers can say that, that is why this is all the rage right now, it fits a niche that very few things have been able to fill. Here is a paste from a balansa clover factsheet which confirms it is an annual:

Plant: Aerial seeding, erect or semi-erect, much branched, self-regenerating annual temperate legume, growing to over 80 cm tall, but remaining prostrate when grazed.

 

[Terrific_tom]

I guess it is an annual. This statement made me think it was a perennial.

Allowing Balansa to grow for 40 days past first bloom every 3-4 years will allow stands to persist indefinitely in no till systems.

It must really put seed down if you only have to let it seed out every 3 or 4 years.

 

[wiscwhip]

I read in one document that normal varieties can produce 400-500lbs per acre if it is grown strictly for seed production.:eek: I would think that since this variety selection was chosen for cold tolerance and it's ability to reseed itself to ensure long term pasture, it likely produces seed amounts in that range as well. One must be careful, as up to 50% of the seed can be hard seed which can sit dormant in the soil and germinate the following year or even later. If you let it go to seed, you may have volunteer clover in that spot for years to come.

 

[j-bird]

Like I said - you better hope the deer like it!

 

[BJE80]

Stu,
Turn on your private messages.

 

[Terrific_tom]

One of the "cons" I can see being possible is that getting rid of this stuff once its established and sets seed for a year or two may not be easy.

Seeing that they are promoting for cover crop or rotation crop for farmers I would think that there would be a way to terminate it.

 

[j-bird]

I more concerned about ending up with a mono-culture than killing it. I might consider adding it as a soil builder, but NOT as a primary clover plot. I simply fear it would choke everything else out. My luck would be the deer won't like it and I got a beautiful blanket of green that the deer won't eat.......figures.

 

[Terrific_tom]

I more concerned about ending up with a mono-culture than killing it. I might consider adding it as a soil builder, but NOT as a primary clover plot. I simply fear it would choke everything else out. My luck would be the deer won't like it and I got a beautiful blanket of green that the deer won't eat.......figures.

One of the biggest complaints on clover plots is weed control. That thick mono culture would be weed free, help keep mosture in ground and making lots of organic matter.