INFLUENCE DES CULTIVARS ET DES STADES DE PRÉLÈVEMENT DE LA PREMIÈRE POUSSE SUR LA PRODUCTION DE SEMENCE DE TRÈFLE ROUGE

Abstract

For five years, the effect of cultivars and vegetative stage of cutting were measured on red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) seed production. The first group of cultivars included Hungaropoli, Ottawa and Lakeland harvested in 1981 and 1982. The second group included Arlington, Florex and Prosper I harvested in 1984, 1985 and 1987. The total annual seed yield differed within cultivars and the highest seed yield was obtained with Hungaropoly and Florex. In the first cultivar group, the tetraploid Hungaropoly obtained a kernel weight higher than the diploids Lakeland and Ottawa. In the second group of cultivars, all diploids, Arlington yielded the highest kernel weight. The percentage of seed germination of Hungaropoly was higher than Lakeland and Ottawa while for Florex it was slightly higher than Arlington and Prosper I. A prior vegetative cutting is essential for good seed yield. In the absence of vegetative cutting seed weight seemed improved. The stage of development at which vegetative cutting is done has little influence on percentage seed germination. These results have shown that despite the strong effect of climatic conditions on seed production, the choice of the optimum stage for vegetative cutting and a well adapted cultivar are important aspects in successful seed production.Key words: Red clover, seed production, cultivar, stage of cutting