Berseem clover (annual) ALEX

A medium early/late berseem clover, suitable for pasture, fodder or green manure

• Vigorous and rapid growth
• Big production of green matter for forage reserve or green manure
• Digestible and nutrient forage
• Intensive grazing tolerant
• Time of flowering: medium-early

• Erect plants with thin, hollow, branching stems
• Large yields of green mass for fodder or green manure
• Develops quickly
• Very fast recovery (in good conditions within 28 days)
• The plants are tall
• Plant height – 30-60 cm
• Drought resistant
• Resistant to diseases
• Moderately low frost resistance
• Flowering time – medium early
• Flowers – whitish, oval/cone-shaped, ~ 2 cm in diameter
• Each pod contains 1-2 seeds
• Seeds – oval
• The colour of the seeds is from yellow to red-brown
• 1000 seeds weight – 3.3 g
• High protein content
• Excellent feed quality, good digestibility
• Used for grazing, silage, hay
• Tolerates intensive grazing
• Harvest at the beginning of flowering
• Tolerates more acidic or saline soils (with a pH of 6.0 to 8.5), but grows best at a pH above 6.5
• Grows well in clay soils but also in moderately loose or light soils as long as they are not acidic
• Tolerates waterlogged soils
• Tolerates high groundwater
• Likes sunny places
• Possible fertilization 100 kg/ha P₂O₅, 80 kg/ha K₂O
• When growing for green manure, suppresses weeds well, fixes nitrogen, and improves soil fertility

• Yield of the 1st harvest – 6.3 points
• Total yield – 5.5 points
• Overall view – 3.3 points
• Crop establishment – 4.4 points
• Competitiveness – 5.2 points
• Persistence – 5.0 points
• Resistance to anthracnose – 4.4 points
• Amount of dry matter – 6.0 points
• Overall index – 4.97 points

*Source: Egyptian clover variety test results 2010-2012. AGROSCOPE in Switzerland. Frick R., Mosimann E., Philippe Aebi1 Ph., Daniel Suter Hansueli Hirschi2 Essais de variétés de trèfle d’Alexandrie et de trèfle Incarnat. Recherche Agronomique Suisse 4 (6): 296–301, 2013. Ratings: 1 = very high, very good; 5 = medium; 9 = very weak, very bad