Dalkeith Subterranean Clover

We recommend Dalkeith Sub Clover. It is an early-flowering, very persistent sub clover suited to moderately acidic, well-drained soils with pHCa 4.5 to 6.5. It is most popular in lower rainfall areas, around 300 to 500mm, with a growing season that runs to early October. It tolerates hard grazing and seeds prolifically.

For our Dalkeith Sub Clover we recommend 6 to 20 kg/ha, with the higher rate for pure stands and the lower rate in mixes. Inoculate with Group C rhizobia before sowing. Dalkeith is available as Certified or Tested seed. Sow into moist soil at the break of the season.

Dalkeith Sub Clover is a good choice for ewes. Its fresh leaves contain only trace levels of formononetin, below 0.05%, so it has very low potential to cause ewe infertility or difficult lambing. It is also very tolerant of hard grazing and persistent, which suits sheep systems in the wheatbelt.

Dalkeith Sub Clover is one of the more hard-seeded sub clovers, which helps it regenerate, but it is not hard-seeded enough for a reliable one-year crop, one-year pasture rotation. It performs best with a pasture phase of at least two years. For tighter rotations, consider our Urana or Izmir, which have more hard seed.

Dalkeith flowers about 96 to 97 days after an early May sowing at Perth. That is nearly three weeks later than Nungarin and Izmir and almost two weeks earlier than Seaton Park. This timing suits districts where the growing season finishes around early October.

Dalkeith Sub Clover is susceptible to clover scorch, cercospora leaf spot and root rots, although these are generally not an issue in the low rainfall areas where it is most popular. It is also susceptible to redlegged earth mite, lucerne flea and blue-green aphids, so monitor seedlings closely after the break.

We suggest mixing Dalkeith Sub Clover with Urana in wetter areas, or with Izmir or Nungarin in drier zones. It also combines well with Casbah Biserrula, serradellas such as Margurita and Santorini, burr medics, and aerial-seeding clovers such as Bartolo Bladder Clover. Mixing species spreads risk across seasons and soils.

Dalkeith Sub Clover is very tolerant of hard grazing and very persistent. It is a semi-erect, medium-maturing type with excellent early vigour, and it seeds prolifically with a high percentage of hard seed. This makes it a reliable choice for heavily stocked sheep paddocks on well-drained, moderately acidic soils.

We offer Dalkeith Sub Clover as both Certified and Tested seed. Certified seed has gone through the formal seed certification scheme for varietal purity, while Tested seed has been tested for purity and germination. Talk to us about which suits your situation. Both should be inoculated with Group C rhizobia before sowing.

Choose Dalkeith for lower rainfall, moderately acidic, well-drained soils and for more hard seed. Choose Seaton Park for higher rainfall and neutral to alkaline soils, as it flowers later and has better disease resistance than Dalkeith. Dalkeith flowers at about 96 days at Perth, earlier than Seaton Park.