PERSIAN CLOVER

Persian clover is a late maturing annual legume with high forage yields and good cover crop attributes. The clover is small seeded, adaptable to multiple soil types, can germinate in less than 24 fours, is quick to establish, and grows well on everything from heavy clay soils to sandy soils, where its quick root elongation helps it survive.

Persian clover, which is also used in wildlife food plots, has a prolific and pleasant fragrance when blooming and is tolerant to medium to high salinity and to alkaline soils. Optimum growth occurs when pH is above 6.0, but it will grow satisfactorily on soils with a pH range of between 5.0 and 8.0. Persian clover also has excellent tolerance of waterlogging.

Persian clover comes in soft-seeded types, var. majus, and hard-seeded types, var. resupinatum. Soft-seeded types are poor re-seeders but feature more biomass than the hard-seeded types.

Majus, one of Persian clover’s two subspecies, performs well in irrigated systems or in regions with annual rainfall of more than 23 inches when planted alone or in combination with oats or annual ryegrass. Resupinatum, the other subspecies, performs well in dryland systems with less than 18 inches of annual rainfall.

Persian clover is a multi-cut species that responds well in grazing applications and in mixtures with small grains, and it has excellent regrowth following grazing or cutting. Persian clover is palatable with high digestibility and crude protein, but it can produce bloat in cattle and photosensitivity in sheep when grazing pure stands.

As a cover crop, the clover’s quick establishment makes it ideal for planting with small grains like cereal rye and wheat, and Persian can produce in excess of 150 pounds of nitrogen per acre. Nitrogen fixing peaks when the plant begins to bloom.

Persian clover can survive cold winter temperatures and frost but develops slowly at low temperatures. It typically is planted in the fall for use during the spring. Optimal seeding rate is six to eight pounds per acre, depending on whether planting into dryland or irrigated systems.

In Oregon, Persian clover is planted in September and October and harvested for seed in July.

Persian clover produces a flattened seed head with pink to purple petals and an upside down corolla. Seeds are tan to reddish-brown and very small. Stems are hollow, branching from the base. Leaves are trifoliolate with 0.4- to 1.2 inch-long oval to oblong serrated leaflets. Stipules are pointed with red veins.

Persian clover is a native of Turkey, Afghanistan, Portugal, Greece, Iran and Iraq.