Publication Date
1989
Description
The development of a model which successfully simulates the response of white clover Trifolium repens L. to environmental variables affecting persistance would be of great value for defining critical limiting processes. In Australia, persistence is determined by the impact of climate, competition and grazing on the processes of generation, from seed or by stolons (Jones, 1980; Archer and Robinson, 1988). Here we outline a model of white clover persistence and production in eastern Australia. In Australia the four critical phases in the lifecycle of white clover where the environment can threaten persistence are : late autumn and winter when germination may occur and seedlings may or may not survive ; spring when seedlings, if any, are recruited as adult plants ; early summer when flowering leads to replenishment of the seed pool ; and late summer and autumn when survival of stolon segments determines perennation. In cool temperate environments survival in this last phase is usually not threatened, and therefore the initial three phases are less important (Harper, 1978). However, in southeast Queensland and south-east USA, the last phase is often lethal, and therefore the first three phases constitute the normal Iifecycle (Jones, 1980; Blaser and Killinger, 1950).
Citation
Hill, M J.; Archer, K A.; and Hutchinson, K J., "Towards Developing a Model of Persistence and Production for White Clover" (2025). IGC Proceedings (1989-2023). 16.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1989/session9/16
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Towards Developing a Model of Persistence and Production for White Clover
The development of a model which successfully simulates the response of white clover Trifolium repens L. to environmental variables affecting persistance would be of great value for defining critical limiting processes. In Australia, persistence is determined by the impact of climate, competition and grazing on the processes of generation, from seed or by stolons (Jones, 1980; Archer and Robinson, 1988). Here we outline a model of white clover persistence and production in eastern Australia. In Australia the four critical phases in the lifecycle of white clover where the environment can threaten persistence are : late autumn and winter when germination may occur and seedlings may or may not survive ; spring when seedlings, if any, are recruited as adult plants ; early summer when flowering leads to replenishment of the seed pool ; and late summer and autumn when survival of stolon segments determines perennation. In cool temperate environments survival in this last phase is usually not threatened, and therefore the initial three phases are less important (Harper, 1978). However, in southeast Queensland and south-east USA, the last phase is often lethal, and therefore the first three phases constitute the normal Iifecycle (Jones, 1980; Blaser and Killinger, 1950).
