Turbo Persian Clover

Turbo produces more feed during autumn and winter than traditional Persian clovers, and will continue well into spring under Australian conditions.

• Tall erect mature growth for easy manageability
• Rapid autumn and winter seedling vigour for better establishment
• High growth rates and production in all seasons, particularly in late autumn/winter
• Developed for flexibility in grazing and multi-cut production
• Suitable for silage, hay and grazing
• Balanced companion legume with annual and short term grasses
• Good frost tolerance
• High tolerance to diseases, particularly rust
• Excellent quality forage of high nutritive value

Seed agronomy table

Maturity	Late
Min Rainfall	450
Hard Seededness	Low
Waterlogging Tolerance	Good
Seeding Rate	Kg/Ha
Dryland	6-10
High Rainfall / Irrigation	10-15

Blends using this Seed

Winter Max Blend
Winter Express Blend


Enterprises for this Seed

Sheep
Beef Cattle
Diary Cattle
Horse
Hay & Silage
Viti & Horti



Strengths

• High nutritive value.
• Extremely high production potential.
• Multi cut forage crop.
• Tolerant of seasonal flooding.
• Some tolerance of salinity.
• Free of oestrogen risks.

Limitations

• Poor regeneration.
• Plant description.

Plant Description

Plant: Erect, annual. Up to 750 mm height.
Stems: Up to 35 mm diameter, hollow, soft.
Leaves: trifoliate, up to 25 mm long, plain, strongly veined, oval-shaped leaflets with serrated margins.
Flowers: pink-violet flowers. Many-flowered cluster and mature in axillary, white, spherical, woolly seed heads to 15 mm diameter on long stalks.
Pods: membranous, dehiscing at thickened sutures; one seeded.
Seeds: ~1 mm long, ovoid, various colours (brown, olive, purple); ~1.5 million/kg.

Pasture type and use

A winter-growing, annual capable of excellent winter and spring growth. Suited to seasonal irrigation. A valuable fodder crop.

Where it grows

Rainfall: > 500 mm in winter/spring rainfall zone for dryland use. Also used with irrigation. Tolerates water with up to 1500 S/cm on low salinity soils with adequate drainage.
Soils: Suited to clay soils, pH 5.5-8.5 (CaCl2). Tolerant of severe waterlogging and mildly saline soil.
Temperature: Good heat tolerance. Quite tolerant of frost and cold but slow growing at low temperatures.

Establishment

Companion species:
Grasses: Italian ryegrass.
Legumes: Balansa clover, arrowleaf clover.
Sowing/planting rates as single species: 5-15 kg/ha; broadcast onto a finely worked, weed free seed bed and cover lightly by a roller or drill seed at 5 mm depth into a clean, finely worked seed bed. High seed rate boosts winter yield and reduces weed invasion.
* ensure seed is Goldstrike treated.
Sowing/planting rates in mixtures: 3-7 kg/ha.
* ensure seed is Goldstrike treated.
Sowing time: February (if irrigating) to April.
Inoculation: GoldstrikeTreated.
The use of Goldstrike XLR8 is recommended to reduce damage from insects at seedling stages.
Fertiliser: Apply ~20-30 kg P/ha annually and correct any nutrient deficiencies, especially K, Mo, Cu, S.

Management

Maintenance fertiliser: For optimum growth Olsen soil P (0-10 cm depth) > 15.
Grazing/cutting: Suited to winter grazing. Set residues at 2-3 cm (winter) and 4-5 cm (spring) to avoid over grazing. Rotationally graze during the cool season when 15-20 cm tall; this stimulates tillering. If sown with grass must graze late winter/early spring to allow clover to contribute later. Suited to hay/silage production; most valuable aftermath. Stems are nutritious but slow to dry; use conditioner to speed up drying. Fast regrowth facilitates second cut; remove bales promptly,hay quite susceptible to rain damage.
Ability to spread: Poor recruitment; most cultivars produce little hard seed.
Weed potential: Low. Seed very susceptible to sprouting in the head and to false breaks.
Major pests: Red legged earth mite and lucerne flea need to be identified and controlled rapidly during establishment.
Major diseases: Some cultivars susceptible to leaf and stem rust (Uromyces trifolii-repentis) and clover rot (Sclerotinia trifoliorum).
Herbicide susceptibility: Glyphosate. Damaged by many broad-leaf herbicides.

Animal production

Feeding value: High (high soluble carbohydrate, high protein content & low NDF content). Retains excellent feeding value as dry standing hay during dry weather.
Palatability: Palatable.
Production potential: Good winter, spring, summer.
Livestock disorders/toxicity: Low isoflavone content - no risk to breeding livestock. Low risk of bloat. Can be associated with photo-sensitization.