CLOVER FIELDS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27568, 9 December 1950, Page 4

CLOVER FIELDS

Closing For Seed SEASONAL CONDITIONS The time of closing a pasture for a white clover seed crop depends on soil and rainfall. Generally, grazing can be continued during spring until the first flowers appear towards the end of October, but a field may have to be closed earlier if the season is dry or the land is light. On heavy land or in wet seasons, however, closing in early December may not be too late to ensure a good crop. If it is not possible to even up the field by grazing, the Department of Agriculture recommends that the growth be topped with a mower. The yield and quality of Montgomery red clover seed depend to a very large extent on the . weather during the period from closing to harvest. In seasons when growth is prolific and flowering uneven and' prolonged, seed does not set freely and- much is lost if harvesting is delayed. The grazing of Montgomery red clover areas in the first year allows the plants to become well established and to produce high yields of seed in the following years. The department considers that stock should be removed from the fields on light land as early .as mid-October; fields on downlands are usually grazed until about the end of November and then topped. On heavy land the crop should be treated similarly to cowgrass. from which a hay crop should be taken early in December and the field then closed for seed.