WHITE CLOVER O 



Both the roots and leaves of the plant may be attacked by the 

 clover-root curculio (Sitona hispidulus Fab.). The grubs gnaw the 

 roots and the adults may riddle the leaves when the insect is abun- 

 dant. This curculio is commonly present throughout the East Cen- 

 tral and Atlantic States. 



Both the clover leaf weevil (Hypera punctata Fab.) and the lesser 

 clover leaf weevil (H. nigrirostris Fab.) frequently attack white 

 clover, especially where this is grown in lawns. As both larvae and 

 adults feed exclusively upon the foliage and young shoots, consid- 

 erable damage may occur. Most of this is done in April and May, 

 as the larvae usually succumb to the attacks of a fungus disease 

 later in the season. 



Varieties 



Three recognized forms of white clover are now in use. These 

 differ in characteristics and performance although there is great 

 variation within each type. They are called common white Dutch, 

 Ladino, and English wild white. 



Common White Dutch 



Common white Dutch clover is composed of a great number of 

 forms, selections of which have been naturally and artificially made 

 and maintained under specific environmental conditions. The selec- 

 tions in agricultural use do not differ greatly and are not distin- 

 guished by specific characteristics although some selections have 

 leaves composed of four and five leaflets, while others have purple 

 seed and rose-colored flowers. Studies have been made on the 

 performance of white clover of widely different origin. Except 

 in the more northern locations, where winter killing has been re- 

 ported, plants produced from Louisiana seed have appeared to be 

 slightly more persistent and productive than those from other 

 sources. These plantings have been made alone and may not rep- 

 resent the true behavior of the form when planted with grass. In 

 Louisiana white clover is grown as a companion crop with Bermuda 

 grass and under such conditions the development of a long-lived 

 perennial strain is favored. In some sections white clover is planted 

 with a companion grain crop in rotation. Seed is harvested the 

 second year, and then the clover is turned under for green manure. 

 When many generations of seed are collected by such methods the 

 development of biennial and short-lived perennial forms is likely to 

 result. On the other hand, seed harvested from plants growing in 

 old established pastures may represent long-lived persistent types. 

 This has been shown to be true in England. 



Ladino 



Ladino clover originated in northern Italy and was introduced 

 into the United States in 1912. It is the largest-growing form of 

 white clover, as shown in figure 2. Under similar conditions it 

 grows nearly twice as large as common white Dutch but does not 

 differ in plant characteristics other than in size of all parts except 

 seed. 



While Ladino has been widely tried throughout the United States 

 its use has been largely confined to the irrigated lands of the 



