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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (11): 105-117.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2021417

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An evaluation of suitability of ten Trifolium repens varieties for use on the Chengdu Plain

Chong-yang HAN(), Shuan WANG, Su-tian ZUO, San-bo YAN, Yang WANG, Jia-bang CAI, Cong-yu MA, Xin-quan ZHANG, Gang NIE()   

  1. College of Grassland Science and Technology,Sichuan Agricultural University,Chengdu 611130,China
  • Received:2021-11-15 Revised:2021-12-31 Online:2022-11-20 Published:2022-10-01
  • Contact: Gang NIE

Abstract:

The aim of this research was to identify high-quality white clover varieties suitable for planting on the Chengdu Plain. The production traits of 10 white clover varieties were evaluated through the growing season, including hay yield, plant height, stolon diameter, leaf area and other indexes, and the nutritional quality of the tested white clover varieties was determined. It was found that the growth period of the introduced variety ‘Jumbo’ was 306 days, and Jumbo was a late-maturing variety. The growth rate of white clover varieties was the fastest (0.52-0.67 cm·d-1) after the first cut. After the second and third cuts the growth rate slowed and was lowest (0.34-0.50 cm·d-1) after the third cut. Among all varieties, ‘Rampart’ had the highest annual hay yield of 14436.44 kg·ha-1 which was, respectively, 20.0% and 26.7% higher (P<0.05) than that of the control varieties ‘Haifa’ and ‘Huia’. The average hay yield of variety ‘OMK’ was 8898.64 kg·ha-1, significantly lower than that of the two control varieties (P<0.05). The natural plant height and ‘stretched height’ of the white clover varieties ranged from 22.6 to 30.2 cm and 35.4 to 53.7 cm, respectively. The variety ‘Rampart’ had the largest leaf area, stem internodes and the greatest stolon diameter. The flowering stem length of ‘Super Huia’, the petiole length of ‘Jumbo’ and petiole diameter of ‘Haifa’ were in each case the best among the white clover varieties tested. The varieties showed great differences in nutritive value measures, and the crude protein content of ‘Ranger’ ranged up to 22.8%. The hay yield and related agronomic traits of 10 white clover varieties were compared and analyzed by grey relational analysis, which showed that the varieties ‘Rampart’, ‘Super Huia’ and ‘Jumbo’ had superior field traits and can be recommended as suitable for planting on the Chengdu Plain.

Key words: white clover, growth period, hay yield, agronomic traits, nutritional quality, grey relational analysis