Vet Judy

Legume Lowdown: Clovers

            In an earlier blog, I touted the research reports from Minnesota concerning birdsfoot trefoil, an important legume in deer food plot plantings.  I’ve also written about how it’s critical to inoculate legumes at planting.  Now, I want to list some of the benefits of clover for deer food plots. 

            Clovers are perennials that are high-quality sources of green deer forage .  It comes in several varieties that are deer friendly.  Like alfalfa, fresh clover gives deer a browse option that combines the high protein with the high calcium of a legume.  Red clover (Trifolium pretense) is a cool-season legume that can be fall-seeded in more moderate climates or spring seeded in northern climates like mine.  It is an exceptional source of calcium at 1.70%. 

            White clover, also called ladino clover (Trifolium repens), can be more susceptible than red clover to nematodes attacking its root system.  Both red and white clovers are seeded in soils with a pH range of 6.0.  Ladino clover tends perform a little better than red clover in poorly drained soils.  It also can last a couple years longer in a deer food plot seeding than does red clover.  In larger fields, some land managers find that seeding ladino in the spring over a wheat planting is an effective management tool.

            Red and white clovers are often mixed with grass to provide a grazing option for white tailed deer.  Their status as cool-season, perennial plants make them a great source of nutrition in the spring and summer.  Food plots requiring a source of forage in the summer months should include red or white clovers in the mix.

            Don’t confuse red or white clover with another plant often marketed for deer food plots, alyceclover (Alysicarpus vaginalis).  Alyceclover is a warm-season annual plant that performs well for deer food plots further south.

            Clovers, red and white, are an important part of deer food plot plantings, especially when seeded with appropriate grasses. For more detailed information about planting clover in your food plot see my article:

http://www.diydeerfoodplots.com/articles/perennial-food-plots-clover.html

            When it comes to your basic cool-season legume for deer forage, alfalfa (Medicago sativa) can’t be beat.  It is a perennial, but it can also be used as an annual in deer food plots, especially in more southern regions. 

            Alfalfa does not do well on clay soils; keep that in mind if your plot is located in such an area.  At about 19% protein and 1.35% calcium, alfalfa is especially good to supplement whitetailed diets in the spring and early summer.

            Alfalfa is a common forage crop used to make hay for cattle and sheep.  If there are alfalfa fields located at or near your hunting ground, be sure to factor that into your food plot design.  Deer that are used to grazing alfalfa elsewhere may not be as tempted to try it in a new planting.

            There are other legumes that are often recommended for deer food plots.  A number of these are warm-season annuals: hairy indigo, partridge pea, cowpea and deer vetch (also known as Aeschonomyne).  Of these warm-season annuals, cowpea can have good early-season forage potential for deer in some regions.  A cool-season annual, Austrian winter pea, has also performed well in more southern regions.

            For a fall forage legume in my part of the world, though, you almost have to go with a cool-season annual like vetch (Vicia) or birdsfoot trefoil.  These can be important legume forage sources that can complement the grasses and grains in your food plot’s design.  Don’t forget to properly inoculate the seed before planting.

            And never plant a legume without taking a look at soybeans, which I’ll deal with in the next blog.

            The bulk of most deer food plot crops are cool season — crops that produce during cooler weather.  In today’s blog, I’ll explore cool-season forages, focusing on cool-season grasses and their value in deer food plots.

            Generally speaking, there are two strategies for cool-season crops used as deer forage or other grazing animals.  The plot manager can select a crop to “stockpile,” allowing a crop to grow during the late summer months for grazing in the early fall, when temperatures drop and the crop’s growth slows. 

Birdsfoot trefoil, a legume, is a good example of a crop used in many deer food plots that is suitable for stockpiling.  Birdsfoot trefoil is a popular selection for this practice because it does not lose its leaves as easily as some other legumes after frost.

            Many cool-season grasses, however, are selected for deer food plots because they are able to keep growing in lower temperatures.  This allows for deer to potentially utilize the grasses as a food source over multiple months.  Cool-season annual grasses often grown for grain—such as ryegrass, wheat, and oats—are often used in food plots. 

            If you’ve grown these crops for grain use, such as winter wheat, using them in deer food plots will require some adjustment to your past experience.  Cool-season grains like wheat and oats grown for fall grazing should be planted almost a month earlier than they are typically planted for grain production.  As always, be sure you’re using varieties that are suited to the typical severity of your fall and winter.  Fertilizer application at planting (equivalent to 40 lbs of nitrogen per acre) is also vital for cool-season fall grass growth.

            One note on ryegrass: be sure you’re using an annual ryegrass, as there are many perennial ryegrass varieties available.  On my ranch, I’ve found ryegrass is used best on small spots that are harder to access.  We also seed ryegrass on our four wheeler trails to provide some grass cover and forage availability.

            perennial cool-season grasses can often create problems in managing land for deer forage, because they can crowd out warm-season grasses in the spring.  For this reason, I keep clear of perennial cool-season grasses in deer food plot plantings.

Birdsfoot trefoil is a popular legume crop in many deer food plot plantings.

Each year, the University of Minnesota conducts field trials to evaluate different varieties of birdsfoot trefoil. Results from last season (2008) were released this past January and are available here (www.maes.umn.edu/09varietaltrials/birdsfoot.pdf).

For northern climates, winterhardiness is critical for a legume like birdsfoot trefoil. Winter injury can vary greatly between varieties.

The tests at Minnesota evaluated varieties for winter injury in 2004, and found no injury in the “Dawn,” “Georgia,” “Norcen” and “Nueltin” varieties. Minimal winter injury was found in the Viking and Roseau varieties in the 2004 test.

The highest yielding variety at the Grand Rapids, MN, test location in 2008 Minnesota trials was a variety called Witt. However, a winterhardy rating for Witt was not listed in the report. The “Dawn” variety of birdsfoot trefoil was the second highest yielding, and has exhibited good winterhardiness.

For the past three years, Minnesota’s reports have recommended the “Norcen” variety of birdsfoot trefoil as an ideal, winterhardy variety performing well in grazing trials.

These test results from Minnesota illustrate the sound information that is available to evaluate varieties for deer food plot plantings. One of the most common mistakes made in deer food plots is planting varieties better suited to another growing zone. As seen by the birdsfoot trefoil test, some varieties that yield very well in both southern and northern zones may not have the winterhardiness needed for the kind of climate and conditions in northern regions.

Always be sure to verify that the crop varieties you are planting in your deer food plot are suitable to your climate.

For All The ABC’s of deer food Plots check out the resources at www.diydeerfoodplots.com

Should you need information on Soybeans, forage oats, rapeseed, chicory and ryegrass, be sure to read the free article.