Fire can damage tissues of yellow sweetclover, particularly the crown buds of second-year plants.
If these are killed by an early spring fire, the plant cannot produce any new stems. Fire kill of the crown buds of second year effectively kills the plant. No additional top growth will occur after stems have been severed or killed below the axil of the lowest lateral branch. Burning aids establishment of yellow sweetclover on grassland, probably because it aids germination of seeds through scarification and by creating openings in which sweetclover can establish. If the management goal is to suppress yellow sweetclover, there are three strategies that may achieve that objective.