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View crop Data sheet EcoPortTrifolium alexandrinum
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| DESCRIPTION: A sparingly hairy annual legume 30-90 cm in height; stems erect or ascending, branching from the base or above. Leaves, all except the uppermost, alternate; adnate parts of stipules oblong, membranous with green nerves; free portion as long as or shorter than the lower part. Leaflets 1.5-3.5 (-5) x 0.6 x 1.5 cm, oblong-elliptical to oblong-lanceolate, tapering at both ends, mucronate at apex, denticulate in upper part. Heads terminal, axillary, pedunculate 1.5-2 x 1.5-2 cm, conical to ovoid, often with a few bracts forming a minute involucre at the base of the head. Flowers 0.8-1.3 cm; calyx tube obconical to campanulate with ten prominent nerves; corolla cream coloured 1.5-2 times as long as calyx; standard considerably longer than wings. Fruiting head 1.5-2.5 x 1-1.5 cm, not disarticulating at maturity; pods 2-2.2 x 1.4-1.9 cm; egg-shaped seeds solitary 1.4 x 1.9 mm. It is entomophilous and cross-pollinated. USES: Grown as a forage plant. It is used as green chop or ensilage. It is mainly grown in arable rotations for green feed for stall-fed stock, mainly cattle and milk buffaloes; it is valued as a fertility-building crop. It is commonly integrated into rice-wheat cropping systems as a winter and spring feed; it may be seeded into rice before the harvest of the cereal. Some is now grown as an annual or catch crop fodder on large-scale farms, usually rain-fed; the season depending on the climate. KILLING T.: The plant may withstand -2 to -3oC and basal parts of the adult plant may survive down to -6 to -8oC. 25% of a stand of the cultivar 'Sacramento' have been reported to survived -15°C. However, most cultivars only tolerate light frosts. Plants may not survive temperatures above 40oC. GROWING PERIOD: Annual. In Florida, it is sown in October-November; it provides forage in January-May, flowers in April-May and fruits in June. Under good growing conditions it may be cut every 35 to 45 days during a season lasting eight to ten months. It propagates itself by seed. COMMON NAMES: Egyptian clover, berseem clover, Alexandrian clover, bersim, trefle d'Alexandrie, trefle alexandrin, bersyn, berzoon, barsim masri, barsim. FURTHER INF.: Scientific synonym: T. maritinum, T. panormitanum. Egyptian clover is probably indigenous to Egypt and western Asia. It is of ancient cultivation in Egypt where it is a major winter crop; from there it was introduced to Sindh in the early years of the twentieth century where it proved so well adapted to the conditions and farming systems of the irrigated tracts of the sub-continent and spread rapidly throughout northern India. It is now the major rabi season fodder and cultivated on millions of hectares: this is probably the most rapid spread of a fodder in recent times and is all the more notable for being mainly under smallholder conditions. It is grown in the USA and, as both a winter and summer crop, in parts of southern Europe. Average yields of multi-cut varieties vary between 20-60 t/ha of fresh herbage. Dry matter yields of 4-8 t/ha may be obtained. | Sources |
| Grassland Index Bogdan A 1977 pp 410-414 [KTMP, TEMP, DRA, TEXT, PH, SAL] Roecklein J 1987 140 [USE] Duke J 1981 pp 234-237 319 [DRA, RAIN, TEMP, PH] Heath M 1985 pp 143-144 [KTMP] Goodin J 1990 pp 38 Langer R 1991 pp 233-234 [RAIN, KTMP, SAL, PH] Kernick M 1978 pp 623-656 [TEMP, KTMP, RAIN, FER, TEXT, PH, SAL] |