In areas where irrigation is available, late summer seedings are also successful. Seed may be broadcast and covered by a harrow or drilled inch deep into a well-prepared seedbed. When alsike is used in renovating pastures, the existing sod should be clipped or closely grazed, disked, fertilized, and seeded in early spring or late fall. As with all legumes, alsike clover should be inoculated with the proper inoculum immediately before seeding. Management Including timothy with plantings of alsike for a hay crop is recommended because the clover has a tendency to lodge.
Alsike clover produces only one crop of hay each season.
Alsike clover is quite tolerant of grazing. A rotational system where alsike is grazed to height of 2 to 4 inches following a regrowth period of 4 weeks will result in a persistent stand of good quality forage. Since alsike is more tolerant than red clover to attacks of clover root borer, it may be successful to areas where red clover has failed. Last updated November 20, 1995. The American Forage and Grassland Council National Fact Sheet Series involves the cooperation of teams of forage agronomists, editors, and graphic artists.