SWEET CLOVER AS A SILAGE CROP._Sweet Clover: Utilization

In some sections of the country sweet clover is gaining in favor as a

silage crop, either alone or in mixtures with other plants. The silage

made from this plant will keep better than that made from most legumes,

as it does not become slimy, as is so often the case with red clover or

alfalfa silage. It produces a palatable feed, which should contain more

protein than well-matured corn silage.

[Illustration: Fig. 10.--Filling the silo with sweet clover.]

When sweet clover makes sufficient growth after grain harvest, or when

seeded alone, it is not necessary to cut it for silage until fall. At

this time it may be run into the silo alone or in mixture with corn.

Excellent results have been obtained by placing alternate loads of corn

and sweet clover in the silo. (Fig. 10.)

When the first crop the second season is not needed for pasturage,

ensiling may prove to be the most economical and profitable way of

handling it, as it is necessary to cut this crop for hay at a time of

the year when the weather conditions in humid regions are very likely

to be unfavorable for haymaking. The large percentage of leaves which

usually are lost from shattering when harvesting the hay will be saved

when the crop is run into the silo.

The first crop the second season will produce approximately two-thirds

as much silage to the acre as corn when it is cut at the time it should

be cut for hay. The second crop may then be harvested for seed. When

sweet clover is handled in this manner, approximately two-thirds of the

total corn acreage which would be cut for silage may be permitted to

mature, as the first crop of sweet clover will replace the corn silage,

while the seed crop ordinarily will bring as much per acre as the corn.

In addition to this, the roots and stubble will add large quantities of

vegetable matter to the soil.

Some farmers do not cut sweet clover for silage until it is in full

bloom. When this is done, 10 to 12 tons of silage will be obtained per

acre, but the plants will be killed by the mowing.

[Illustration: Fig. 11.--Cutting sweet clover with a grain binder for

silage.]

When the green plants are ensiled, the crop preferably should be cut

with a grain binder. (See illustration on title-page and fig. 11.) This

will solve the difficulty of cutting a high stubble and will at the

same time bind the plants so that they may be run through the silage

cutter without difficulty. Green plants, and especially the first

crop of the second season, contain too much moisture to be run into

the silo immediately after cutting. In some cases quantities of juice

have been pressed out of the bottom of the silo, and as a result the

silage settled considerably. Analyses of the juice from one silo showed

that it contained 0.23 per cent protein and 2 per cent carbohydrates.

This loss of juice may be overcome by permitting the bundles to remain

in the field just as they come from the binder until the plants are

wilted thoroughly. Straw or corn stover may be placed in the bottom of

the silo to absorb some of the juice. If the plants contain too much

moisture it may be a good plan to mix some corn stover with the sweet

clover as it is run into the silo.

Several silos in Illinois have been filled with sweet-clover straw.

When this is done it is necessary to add sufficient water to moisten

the dry stems. These stems become soft in a short time and ensile

in good condition. When the seed crop is thrashed with either a

grain separator or a clover huller the stems are broken and crushed

sufficiently to render it unnecessary to run them through a silage

cutter. Care must be taken when ensiling the straw to add sufficient

water, if molding is to be avoided. It will probably be necessary

to add water at the blower and also at the top of the silo. It is

essential to tramp the straw thoroughly, so as to exclude as much air

as possible. After the silo is filled it should be covered with a layer

of green plants and thoroughly soaked with water.

Table III gives analyses of several sample of sweet-clover silage as

compared to corn silage.

Table III.--_Composition of sweet-clover silage and well-matured corn

silage._

---------------+---------+---------------------------------------------

| | Constituents (per cent).

| +------+------+--------+----------------+-----

| Number |Water.| Ash. | Crude +------+---------+

---------------+---------+------+------+--------+------+---------+-----

| | | | | | |

growth[7] | 1 | 73.7 | 1.73 | 3.17 | 20.8 | 0.65

season[2] | 1 | 73.7 | 2.57 | 2.05 | 8.06 | 12.32 | 1.27

Straw[8] | 3 | 73.7 | 1.19 | 2.70 |13.59 | 8.33 | .50

matured[9] | 121 | 73.7 | 1.70 | 2.10 | 6.30 | 15.40 | .80

| | | | | | |

---------------+---------+------+------+--------+------+---------+-----

[7] Analysed by the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station.

[8] Analysed by the Bureau of Chemistry.

[9] Analyses compiled by Henry and Morrison.

As shown in Table III the analyses of the first and second years'

growth of sweet clover compare favorably in food elements with corn

silage. It is to be expected that the silage made from the sweet clover

straw would contain less protein and carbohydrates than that made from

the entire plants, as most of the leaves shatter from sweet clover

before the seed crop is cut. Considerable protein and carbohydrates

were lost from the silage made from the first crop the second season,

as the plants were run into the silo as soon as they were cut. Much

juice was pressed from the bottom of this silo. An analysis of this

juice is given on page 21.