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Inoculation of white clover with different strains of Rhizobium trifolii on a mineral hill soil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

L. R. Mytton
Affiliation:
Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, Wales
D. M. Hughes
Affiliation:
Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, Wales

Summary

S.184 white clover was established on an unimproved brown earth hill pasture using both surface seeding techniques and conventional cultivation. Inoculation with selected Rhizobium trifolii improved clover dry-matter production by 0·017 t/ha on the cultivated trial in the establishment year and by 0·13 t/ha in the first harvest year. On the uncultivated site, clover dry-matter production was increased 1·88 t/ha by the best inoculation treatment in the first harvest year and 1·01 t/ha in the second harvest year. Rhizobium strains differed in their ability to promote clover growth. Clover yields were substantially better on the uncultivated than on the cultivated trial. The implications of the results for hill land pasture improvement are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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