DISEASES 405 



no aftermath. In the northern part of the clover belt the season 

 is not long enough to harvest both crops. When seed is grown here, 

 it is the usual custom to pasture the clover till about June, or to clip 

 it off at that time with the mowing machine. This is thought to give 

 not only a more uniform crop, but to give a better seed crop by bring- 

 ing the seed production later in the season. 



One reason why mammoth clover is not more generally grown is 

 due to the higher price of seed, the seed being higher because it will 

 produce only one crop a year. Most of the red clover seed is grown 

 in regions where the second crop can be harvested. 



Harvesting Seed Crop. The seed crop is generally cut with a 

 mowing machine. Sometimes a buncher attachment is used, which 

 leaves the clover either in wind-rows or bunches. It may be cured 

 in the field and then put in stacks, or it is sometimes left in the 

 field for several weeks until the straw has more or less rotted. The 

 threshing is usually done with a special machine called a clover 

 huller. 



Average yields are usually about two bushels per acre, but large 

 yields of five or six bushels are not uncommon. It is very difficult 

 to estimate the probable yield of seed. One method of estimating it 

 is to collect a number of representative heads and shell out the seed. 

 If there is a thick, full stand of clover, an average of ten seeds per 

 head may be estimated as equivalent to a bushel per acre. As there 

 is seldom a full stand of heads, it is probable that under average con- 

 ditions the head should average nearer twenty seeds per head to 

 equal a bushel per acre (Fig. 175). 



Color of Seed. Clover seed varies from a bright yellow to a 

 dark purple in color. As a general thing, the seed from a single 

 plant is more or less alike in color, and there is a general tendency 

 for seed to produce plants yielding seed of the same color, 

 though there is always great variation. Seeds also get darker or 

 more purple in color as they ripen. In general, if the seeds are all 

 mature, there appears to be no difference in the value of yellow or 

 purple seed. 



Diseases. Many diseases are found in the clover plant, but none 

 of them do serious injury. Clover anthracnose has been reported as 

 serious in Tennessee. 



