Place In The Rotation
Category:
ALFALFA
Since white clover is usually not sown for
meadow, but is rather sown for pasture, it can scarcely be called a
rotation plant in the strict sense of the term; and yet, because of the
extent to which it grows when it has once obtained a footing in soils,
it is more or less frequent in all rotations in which grass or clover is
one of the factors. As it usually comes into the grass pastures, when
these have become established, it will occupy about the same place as
blue grass in rotations; that is to say, whatever would be proper to sow
after the blue grass would be proper to sow after this plant; since the
two usually unite in making the same sod. It will, therefore, be in
order to follow this plant with corn to feed upon the nitrogen furnished
by the clover. The same will be true of any small cereal that has
special adaptation for being grown on overturned sod, as for instance,
flax or oats, or of any crop that revels in the decay of vegetable
matter, more especially in the early stages of such decay, as, for
instance, potatoes and rape. When white clover is sown on land that is
cultivated, though only sown as a factor in a pasture crop, as with all
other clovers it may best be sown on land that is clean; that is, on
land on which the preceding crop has been cultivated to the extent of
securing a clean surface on the same. If, however, this crop must needs
be sown on land that has not been thus cleaned, its great inherent
hardihood will enable it to establish itself where some clovers and
grasses would fail.
It is common to sow white clover on land from which the forest has
recently been removed, also on natural prairie, where it has not
previously grown. In these instances it simply follows the crop of
forest in the one case and of native prairie in the other. But it will
not take possession of the land in either case to the exclusion of other
grasses.
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Soils
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