CRIMSON CLOVER - ORGANIC

Dettagli

Crimson clover is among the most interesting annual forage legume species both for Mediterranean environments (with an autumn-spring cycle) and for central-northern European areas (with a spring-summer cycle).
Native to Asia Minor, it has long been cultivated in its native India, throughout the Mediterranean basin, and in central and northern Europe; in the United States, its cultivation is limited to the eastern temperate regions and the southwestern area.
There are at least four biotypes of Alexandrian clover, each differing in its biological characteristics, size, and regrowth capacity: "Fahl," a larger plant capable of producing a single cut; "Saidi," a drought-resistant plant with a deep root system and capable of producing two to three cuts; "Kadrawi," a long-cycle, late-ripening clover, typically producing two to three cuts, or even more if irrigated; and "Miskawi," an early-growing clover capable of producing three to four cuts, the most widespread in Italy and Europe. The first three are grown in warmer regions.

Botanical characters

The plant has an erect habit, hollow stems, trifoliate compound leaves with sessile, narrow leaflets, carried by a long peduncle with enveloping stipules and axillary branches, basal shoots produced by the buds of the collar in succession throughout the cycle with intensity in relation to the environmental conditions and use, inflorescence in the form of a capitulum with white flowers.

Environmental needs and cultivation techniques

Alexandrian clover is native to warm-temperate climates, does not tolerate temperatures below 0 °C and is resistant to high temperatures (up to 40 °C).
To germinate, seeds require good humidity and a temperature of at least 8-9°C. Under favorable conditions, seedlings emerge in 3-4 days. Low temperatures slow or halt the vegetative growth of young seedlings, causing the leaves to take on a characteristic reddish color. At least 8-10°C is required for stem growth to begin. Flowering occurs at temperatures of at least 18-20°C and begins 120-150 days after sowing for autumn sowings and after just 40-60 days for spring sowings.
From a podiatric point of view, Alexandrian clover is considered a species with limited needs.
It is an improving species due to its taproot system and its abundance of root tubers.
It is also well suited for the creation of oligophyte forage crops.
In temperate climates and neutral or alkaline soils it replaces crimson clover in Landsberger mixtures.
It is generally believed that Alexandrian clover is not very demanding in terms of cultivation, being often sown on hard soil in the South, however in the clayey soils of the same area, ploughing to a depth of about 30 cm in August, repeated harrowing and levelling the surface after the first autumn rainfall are favourable conditions for obtaining a good forage crop.
Irrigation is more widespread in central and northern Italy, while in southern Italy and on the islands the crop is normally dry.
Alexandrian grass is generally harvested for forage production when the plant has just produced basal shoots that will produce new stems and therefore regrowth. For this reason, cutting or grazing must be carried out in such a way as not to damage the basal shoots.

Variety and use

Currently in Italy 7 varieties are registered in the National Register ("Akenaton", "Alex", "Axe", "Laura", "Miriam", "Lilibeo" and "Sacromonte" with the first 5 registered only after 1990.
Among the foreign varieties of some interest are 'Bigbee' and 'Multicut', 'Wafir' and 'Giza', and the tetraploids 'Pusa Giant' and 'Lage Giant'.
The objectives of genetic improvement include: increasing resistance to low temperatures and water stress, extending the biological cycle, increasing overall productivity and individual uses, and improving quality.
Currently, seed is mostly obtained from the last regrowth of common crops planted for forage production (grazed and subsequently cut to obtain fresh forage or silage).