Agroscope, Institute for Plant Production Sciences IPS, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland

Corvus and Pica: two new red clover cultivars of the persistent Mattenklee type

Two new red clover cultivars, CORVUS and PICA, of the persistent “Mattenklee” type are being released in Switzerland. They have been selected for being less aggressive in mixtures. Their first year yield is slightly lower than that of the known “Mattenklee” cultivars. However, they have an excellent level of resistance against stem nematodes, powdery mildew and other important diseases, and they are as persistent as most of the known “Mattenklee” varieties. Plot trials with standard mixtures confirmed that the new varieties are less dominant in mixtures. In summer of the first full harvest year, their part in the mixed canopy was smaller than that of a standard “Mattenklee” cultivar. This tendency continued for PICA in the second year. However, in the second harvest year, both CORVUS and PICA behaved more like a persistent “Mattenklee” than a regular, short-lived type of red clover, which limits their use in grass-white clover mixtures. In conclusion, the new varieties are the most suitable for the “Mattenklee” mixtures, in particular for the new recipe SM 310.

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