Die Bodenkultur - Journal for Land Management, Food and Environment

V. Pavlu, M. Hejcman, L. Pavlu and J. Gaisler:

Effect of strip seeding of Trifolium repens on a sward under continuous cattle grazing

Summary

The effect of strip seeding of white clover on a sward under continuous stocking of heifers was studied in the Jizerské hory Mountains over five years (1993–1997). There were two treatments applied in our study: reseeded pasture (R) and control (C) without reseeding. The sward was maintained at a height of 5–7.5 cm, varying the grazing area and reducing the number of heifers under both treatments in late summer. Although a low share of white clover was recorded under treatment C at the start of the experiment, a similar cover and biomass production was revealed under both treatments during the third, fourth and fifth experimental season. The white clover cover and biomass production under the control, which received no renovation, increased with time. The result demonstrates the low importance of T. repens strip seeding into pastures where at least some plants or seeds are present in a sward, or in adjacent pastures, or in the soil seed bank. Key words: Grassland, white clover, pasture renovation, plant biomass.