Investigation into the contrasting production of eight perennial clover cultivars in the first two years at field sites in Waikato and Canterbury

The persistence, productivity and pest susceptibility of eight perennial clover cultivars were compared over two years in pasture at two contrasting sites: a dryland cattle-grazed pasture on a pathogenic soil in Waikato and an irrigated Canterbury dairy pasture. The cultivars selected were four white clovers (Trifolium repens L.) (Grasslands Kopu II, Grasslands Mainstay, SF Quest and Weka), two red clovers (T. pratense L.) (Grasslands Relish, Rubitas), a strawberry clover (T. fragiferum) cv. Palestine and the Caucasian (T. ambiguum M. Bieb.) × white clover hybrid cv. Aberlasting. Grasslands Relish outperformed all other clovers at both sites and was associated with the fewest root-damaging nematodes. Both red clovers were less susceptible to insect pests than the white clovers, but Rubitas was vulnerable to nematodes and root disease at Ruakura. The poorest performing clover at both sites was Aberlasting, which was the most susceptible clover in all pest and disease measures. The four white clovers and strawberry clover performed similarly across most measures. An assay comparing on soils taken from each site showed that clover seedlings grown in pasteurised Waikato soil were almost ten times larger than those in the non-pasteurised soil whereas pasteurisation made no significant difference with the Canterbury soil.