4

Agricultural Research Center
Research Report RC-1980-9 October 1980

COOL SEASON LEGUME PRODUCTION IN SOUTH CENTRAL FIORIDA, 1979-80.

P. Mislevy, R.S. Kalmbacher and P.H. Everett'

The legunes, red and white clover, sweet clover, and alfalfa, can
provide a source of high-quality forage when permanent pastures are
producing very little. Production can begin in late January and continue
through May, depending on plant species. These legumes may be rotationally
grazed, harvested as green chop, or made into hay. Red clover, alfalfa
and sweet clover are upright, bunch-type plants that can attain a height
of 12 to 24 inches. These species are well adapted for hay which can
be made during the dry months of March, April, or May. White clover is
strongly stoloniferous, generally attaining a height of 6 to 12 inches.
Its prostrate habit of growth makes this plant most adapted to grazing.

Regardless of intended use, the production of high yielding quality
legume forage depends on the selection of proper varieties seeded on well
drained soils followed by good fertilization and water control practices.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate cool season legumes for
forage production and persistence in south center Where trade
nanes are used no endorsement is intended. '-E LBRlaARyT
Experimental Proce e JUL1 8 1985

Four legume studies were conducted during f99- growing seas.
Three studies were at the Ona Agricultural Researc ee
at the Imnokalee ARC.
The alfalfa, clover, and seeding rate experiments conducted at the
Ona ARC were seeded November 9, 1979. The experiment conducted at the
Immokalee ARC was seeded on November 7. Throughout this paper the studies
will be referred to as alfalfa variety, seeding rate, and clover experiments
Ona, and alfalfa experiment Immokalee. The field-plot layout of all four
experiments was a randomized, complete block with four replications.

Associate Professors, Agricultural Research Center, Ona; and Professor,
Agricultural Research Center, Immokalee.

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Seeding rates of the alfalfa and clover experiments at Ona were as
follows: red clover 10 Ib/A, white clover 4 Ib/A, alfalfa 12 lb/A, sweet
clover 10 lb/A. The seeding rate study consisted of three entries each
seeded at three rates: 'Fla 77' alfalfa was seeded at 7, 14, and 21
lb/A; 'Nolins' red clover at 3, 6, and 9 lb/A, and 'Arcadia' white clover
at 1, 3, and 6 Ib/A. In Inmnkalee the alfalfa seeding rate was 20 Ib/A.
All legume seed at both locations was inoculated with proper strain of
Rhizobiwn bacteria. In Inmokalee the Pelinoc(R) system was used in
combination with proper Rhizobiwn.

All experiments at Ona and Inmokalee except the rate of seeding
study were drilled with a Planet Junior (R) seeder in rows 7 inches apart,
to a depth of 0.5 inches and double cultipacked. The seeding rate study
was broadcast seeded and double cultipacked to obtain good seed to soil
contact.

The Ona experiments were irrigated immediately after seeding with
an overhead system. A total of 4.4 inches of water was applied at Ona.
About one-half of the water was applied in November with the remaining
2.4 inches applied after early March. Rainfall during December to
February of the 1979-80 growing season was adequate. At Inmokalee the
alfalfa experiment was irrigated by a seepage system with laterals on
40 foot center. Water was supplied as needed.

Calcium and magnesium content in all Ona and Innokalee experiments
was adequate. Fertilization practices at Ona were 475 lb/A of 0-10-20
(N-P205-K20) plus 20 Ib/A TEM 300 micronutrients-at seeding. In
Inmokalee 445 Ib/A of 0-10-20 was applied prior to seeding. On December
21, 1979 and February 27, 1980, 260 and 280 Ib/A of 0-10-20 was applied
at Imnokalee.
All experiments at Ona were harvested when the forage attained a
height of 9 to 25 inches, depending on plant species. White clover was
generally harvested when plants ranged from 9 to 13 inches, whereas

2TEM micronutrients contain the following elemental content: iron,
18.0%; zinc, 7.0%; manganese, 7.5%; boron, 3.0%; copper, 3.0% and
molybdenum, 0.2%.

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alfalfa, red and sweet clover ranged from 11 to 25 inches (early bloom
or bud stage). Alfalfa plant heights at Imokalee ranged from 4 to 18
inches. All legumes harvested at both locations were cut to a 3 inch
Stubble.

Approximately one week prior to the seeding of legunes at Ona and
the day before seeding at Inmokalee the herbicide, Eptam R), was applied
at a rate of 4.0 and 3.0 lbs active/A, respectively. The chemical at
both locations was applied to the cultivated soil and disked into the
seedbed immediately to control broadleaf and grassy weeds.

Results and Discussion

Ona ARC

The alfalfa varieties in 1980 were only harvested twice and died
following the second harvest because of flooding (8.8 inches rainfall
in 10 days) which occurred in late March or early April. Therefore,
total dry matter yields of alfalfa were low ranging from 1.8 T/A for
NK 78010, Fla 77, La Seed Co. 7730 to 1.1 T/A for Ferry Morse AS-13-R
(Table 1). Both dormant (NAPB Vangard) and non-dormant (Fla. 77)
varieties tested in this study yielded similarly in the first two
harvests averaging 1.7 and 1.8 T/A, respectively. The first alfalfa
harvest was removed March 4, 1980 and averaged 42% leaf spot disease
(Stemphylium botryioswn). Leaf spot ranged from a low of 20% plant
infection for NK 78010, NAPB Vangard, Fla 77, La Seed Co 7730, Dekalb
180, Cimarron, NAPB Apollo and NK-K-7-29 to a high of 80 + % for
Hairy Peruvian NAPB 91, WL 514, Ferry Morse AS-13-R, aew,and Moapa.
However, in the second harvest leaf spot decreased considerably
averaging 18% plant infection with 30% of the entries not containing
any leaf spot.

Alfalfa definitely can be grown in south Florida, however, additional
research is required to determine the proper soil series to help reduce
plant loss due to flooding as occurred in 1980.

Significant differences among cool season clovers were obtained
during the 1979-80 growing season at Ona (Table 2). The red clover
entries outyielded the white clovers by a total of 0.5 T/A after two

harvests. The red clovers produced about the same dry matter yields as
the alfalfas in two harvests with the better varieties averaging 2.1
and 1.8 T/A, respectively. Little differences were observed between
red and white clover entries, possibly because most plant entries
died following the second harvest due to rootknot nematodes, reducing
the production capacity of many entries.

Hubam sweet clover did not produce as well as the other cool season
legumes averaging 1.3 T/A dry matter. Sweet clover does not tiller well
after one or two harvests, resulting in plant loss.

Seeding rate study: Ona ARC

There was no significant difference in the total yield of the legumes
due to the effect of seeding rate (Table 3). Alfalfa, red clover, and
white clover all produced good solid stands regardless of the amount of
seed planted. Under conditions of good soil moisture, good seed-to-soil
contact, and good fertility thinner plant stands can produce as well as
thicker stands. Alfalfa and red clover will tiller more profusely in a
thin stand resulting in "larger plants". Also since white clover is
stoloniferousit will fill in open places in the field. When seeding
under adverse conditions, especially where moisture and seed placement
are less than good, higher seeding rates should be used.

Alfalfa study: Immokalee

Alfalfa was harvested three times at Imnokalee, and there were
differences in yield among varieties at each harvest and total dry
matter yield (Table 4). Yields were very low during the 1980 season
when the average was 1.4 T/A and thecrange in yield was 1.6 to 0.9 T/A.
All entries had good stands, but even with good fertility and water
they failed to produce. It is not known why alfalfa stands did not
produce as in past years. Alfalfa has been seeded for three years on
the same site and a build-up of nematodes may have been a limiting
factor.
In general, the non-dormant alfalfas like WL 600, WL 512, Moapa
69, Fla 77, andHairy Peruvian were higher yielding than dormant types
like NAPB 91, NAPB 'Trident', NK K-7-29 and NK Spreader II.

Most varieties developed stands that covered a majority of the plot
area averaging 70%in harvest 1 and 81% in harvest 2 and 3 (Table 5).
Plant height was very low and did not exceed 18", which is extremely
short for alfalfa. At harvest 1 no plants were in flower, but as much
as 3% and 14% of the plants were flowering at harvest 2 and 3, respectively.
Disease, especially Stemphylium was cmann at harvest 2 and 3. Disease
was not a limiting factor during the legume production period, however,
all were equally susceptable to disease.

Conclusion

ARC, Ona

When selecting cool season legumes for forage production in south
Florida, alfalfa, red clover or white clover may provide timely winter
forage. However, alfalfa must be seeded on a deep well drained soil
site, with a deep organic pan. Red and white clover are also good
selections and may be grown on soil with a shallow organic pan thus
temporarily withstanding wetter soil. Significant differences were
obtained among alfalfa dry matter yields when harvested only twice.
Eight varieties yielded a total of 1.7 to 1.8 T/A in two harvests.
Seeding rate did not affect total dry matter yield when alfalfa was
seeded at 7, 14, or 21 lb/A; red clover at 3, 6 or 9 Ib/A; or when
white clover was seeded at 1, 3, or 6 Ib/A. With ample moisture and
good seed-to-soil contact lower seeding rates may be adequate, but for
adverse seeding conditions higher rates are still recommended.

Immokalee ARC

After three harvests there were significant differences in alfalfa
yield. Yields were low during the 1980 season, but those entries with
relatively good production were WL 600, WL 512, Fla 77, Moapa 69 and
Hairy Peruvian which all averaged 1.6 T/A of dry matter.

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Table 1. Dry matter yield and plant height of alfalfa varieties grown at the
ARC, Ona, 1979-80.

Variety

Harvest
1 2 Total

NK
Fla
La Seed Co.
NAPB
Dekalb
GPR
NK
NK
NAPB
WL
WL
NAPB
Arizona

USDA/SEA/AR
NAPB
Dekalb
Ferry Morse
Average

-----T/A--
-'T
78010: 0.8a* (20)'
Fla 77 0.8a (24)
7730 0.8a (23)
Vangard 0.8a (21)
130 0.8a (19)
Cimarron 0.8a (21)
79178: 0.8a (23)
K-7-294 0.8a (20)
Apollo 0.7ab (20)
WL 600 0.7ab (21)
WL 514 0.6cd (24)
91 0.6cd (21)
Law 0.6cd (24)
Hairy Peruvian 0.6cd (21)
Moapa 69 0.6cd (23)
Trident 0.6cd (21)
185 0.5cd (18)
AS-13-R 0.4d (20)
0.7

* Means within a column followed by the same letters are not significantly
different at the 0.05 level of probability according to Duncans multiple range
test.
t NAPB is North American Plant Breeders; NK is Northrup King; Fla is Florida
Experiment Station; GPR is Great Plains Research Co. and WL is Waterman and Loomis
4 Experimental varieties seed not commercially available.
Values in parenthesis represent plant heights in inches.
Soil type: Ona fine sand Date seeded: November 9, 1979.
Seeding rate: 12 lb/A Fertilization rate: 475 Ib/A 0-10-20
Herbicide: preplant, incorporate Eptamn (N-P205-K20) respectively, plus 20 Ib/A
at 4 pints/A commercial product. TEM 300 prior to seeding.
Harvest dates: 1=3-4-80; 2-4-8-80 Irrigation: applied 4.4 inches of
water through overhead sprinklers.

Brand

. Oa*
1.O0a
1.0a
0.9ab
0.9ab
0.9ab
0.9ab
0.7a-c
0.9ab
0.8a-c
0.8ab
0.8a-c
0.8a-c
0.8a-c
0.7a-c
0.7bc
0.6bc
0.7bc
0.8

(23)
(23)
(22)
(21)
(22)
(22)'
(25)
(22)
(21)
(22)
(22)
(22)
(22)
(21)
(21)
(20)
(20)
(20)

1.8a*
1.8a
1.8a
1.7ab
1.7ab
1.7ab
1.7ab
1.7ab
1.6a-c
1.5b-d
1.4c-e
1.4c-e
1.4c-e
1.4c-e
1.3ef
1.3ef
1.3ef
. lf
1.5

Table 2. Dry matter yield and plant height of cool season clover varieties
grown at the ARC, Ona, 1979-80.
Harvest
Brand Variety 1 2 Total
T/A
Red clover
Nolins Oa* (17) l.la* (18) 2.la*,
PennT AES Pennscott 0.9a (12) 1.2a (19) 2.la
NAPB Redland 0.8a (12) 1.2a (17) 2.0a
NKt Florie 0.8a (11) l.la (17) 1.9a
NK Mega 0.8a (11) la (17) 1.9a
NAPB Redland II 0.8a (11) l.la (16) 1.9a
Average 0.9 1.0 2.0
White clover
La S-1 0.7a (9) 0.8b (11) 1.5b
NK Arcadia 0.8a (9) 0.7b (11) 1.5b
NK K7-51 0.8a (9) 0.7b (11) 1.5b
Average 0.8 0.7 1.5
Sweet clover
C.M. Payne Hubam 0.5a (14) 0.8b (23) 1.3b

* Means within a column followed by the sane letters
different at the 0.05 level of probability according
range test.

are not significantly
to Duncans multiple

t NAPB is North American Plant Breeders, NK is Northrup King, Penn is the
Pennsylvania Ag. Experiment Station.
T Experimental entry, seed not commercially available.
Values in parenthesis represent plant height in inches.
Soil type: Ona fine sand. Seeding date: November 9, 1979.
Seeding rate: Sweet clover and red clover, 10 Ib/A; white clover, 4 Ib/A.
Fertilization rate: 475 Ib/A 0-10-20 (N-P205-K20) respectively, plus 20 Ib/A
TEM 300 micronutrients.
Herbicide: Eptam, preplant incorporate, @ 4 pints commercial product/acre
Harvest dates: 1=3-5-80; 2=4-9-80.
Irrigation: 4.4 inches applied through overhead sprinklers.

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Table 3. Average dry matter
grown from different seeding

yields and plant heights of cool
rates at the ARC, Ona, 1979-80.

season legumes

Harvest
S1 2 3-
Legumet Seeding rate 2-22-80 4-10-80 5-28-80 Total
S --b/A--- -T/A
Alfalfa 7 1.1 a* (21)1 0.7 b (19) 0.4 b 2.2 ab
Alfalfa 14 0.6 b (19) 0.7 b (19) 0.4 b 1.7 b
Alfalfa 21 0.6 b (17) 0.8 b (18) 0.5 b 1.9 b

Red clover 3 0.5 b (8) 1.1 a (16) 0.9 a 2.5 ab
Red clover 6 0.7 ab (11) 1.2 a (15) 0.9 a 2.8 a
Red clover 9 0.7 ab (11) 1.2 a (14) 0.9 a 2.8 a

White clover 1 0.7 ab (12) 0.7 b (11) 0.5 b 1.9 b
White clover 3 0.6 b (12) 0.7 b (11) 0.5 b 1.8 b
White clover 6 0.7 ab (11) 0.6 b (13) 0.6 b 1.9 b

* Means within a column followed by the same letters are not significantly
different at the 0.05 level of probability accorinding to Duncans multiple
range test.
t Legume varieties were: Alfalfa, Fla 77; Red clover, Nolins; White clover,
Arcadia.
SValues in parenthesis represent plant height in inches.
Soil type: Myakka fine sand.
Date seeded: November 9, 1979, red clover reseeded, November 26, 1979.
Fertilization rate: 475 Ib/A 0-10-20 (N-P205-K20) respectively, plus 20 Ib/A
TEM 300 micronutrients.
Herbicide: Eptam, preplant-incorporate @ 4 pints/A formulation.
Irrigation: applied 4.4 inches of water through overhead sprinklers.

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Table 4. Average dry matter yields of alfalfa grown at the ARC, Imnokalee
1979-80.

Harvest
1 2 3
Brand Variety 2-27-80 4-8-80 5-13-80 Total
--T/A-------
WL WL 600 0.3 a* 0.5 abc 0.8 a* 1.6 a*
WL WL 512 0.3 a 0.6 ab 0.7 ab 1.6 a
USDA/SEA/AR Moapa 69 0.3 a 0.6 ab 0.7 ab 1.6 a
Fla Fla 77 0.4 a 0.6 ab 0.6 ab 1.6 a
Hairy Peruvian 0.4 a 0.5 abc 0.7 ab 1.6 a
La Seed Co. 7730 0.2 ab 0.6 ab 0.7 ab 1.5 ab
NK NK 79178: 0.4 a 0.5 abc 0.6 ab 1.5 ab
Dekalb 130 0.2 ab 0.6 ab 0.6 ab 1.4 abc
GPR Cimarron 0.2 ab 0.6 ab 0.6 ab 1.4 abc
WL WL 514 0.2 ab 0.5 abc 0.7 ab 1.4 abc
NK Daninor 0.2 ab 0.6 ab 0.6 ab 1.4 abc
NAPB 91 0.2 ab 0.5 abc 0.5 b 1.2 abc
NAPB Trident 0.1 b 0.5 abc 0.6 ab 1.2 abc
NK K-7-29T 0.1 b 0.5 abc 0.5 b 1.1 abc
Arizona Lew 0.3 a 0.3 d 0.5 b 1.1 abc
Ferry Morse AS-13-R 0.1 b 0.4 bcd 0.5 b 1.0 bc
NK Spreader II 0.1 b 0.3 d 0.5 b 0.9 c
Average 0.2 0.5 0.6 1.4

* Means within colunms followed by the
Duncans multiple range test, K=100.

same letters are not significantly different.

t NAPB is North American Plant Breeders; NK is Northrup King; Fla is Florida
Experiment Station, Arizona is Arizona Experiment Station and WL is Waterman
Locmis, GPR is Great Plains Research Co.
T Experimental varieties, seed not ccmnercially available.
Date seeded: November 7, 1979.
Fertilization: 445 Ib/A of 0-10-20 (N-P205-K20). On December 21, 1979 and
February 27, 1980, 260 and 280 Ib/A of 0-10-20 was applied.
Herbicide: preplant incorporate Eptam at 3 pints (active)/acre.
Irrigation: seepage with laterals on 40 foot centers.

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Table 5. Agronomic characteristicsof alfalfa grown at the ARC, Immokalee,
1979-80.
Harvest

1 2 3

Brand Variety in. %in. % % t in. % % t
WL WL 600 12 71 15 83 2 2 18 84 10 2
WL WL 512 12 76 15 76 3 3 18 85 14 2
USDA/SEA/AR Moapa 69 11 76 15 81 2 3 18 89 5 2
Fla Fla 77 12 80 16 89 2 2 17 89 10 2
Hairy Peruvian 12 79 15 84 1 3 18 85 8 2
La Seed Co. 7730 8 70 14 89 0 1 15 86 3 2
NK NK 79178 11 76 15 89 2 2 16 83 8 2
Dekalb 130 9 71 13 86 0 2 14 86 2 2
GPR Cimnaron 8 73 14 91 1 2 15 93 2 1
WL WL 514 11 70 15 78 2 3 18 79 9 2
NKI Dcninor 8 74 13 90 0 2 14 85 0 2
NAPB 91 12 79 14 79 0 3 16 81 4 2
NAPB Trident 6 63 14 83 0 2 14 79 1 2
NK K-7-29 6 69 14 84 1 2 15 77 4 2
Arizona Lew 11 65 14 68 3 4 17 61 7 3
Ferry Morse AS-13-R 9 60 14 66 1 2 15 65 3 3
NK Spreader II 4 40 12 63 0 1 11 64 0 2

t rated on a scale of 1 to 10, with l=no disease, 10=total plant loss.

0

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