Volume 25, 20

Tropical Grasslands (1991) Volume 25, 20–25

Variation in flowering time, dry matter and seed yield among annual Trifolium species, Ethiopia

J. KAHURANANGA and A. TSEHAY

International Livestock Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Agronomic evaluation of 96 accessions of 6 native Ethiopian Trifolium species was carried out from 1984 to 1986. The earliest and the latest to flower were T. steudneri and T. decorum, respectively. Early cessation of rain in 1984 caused poor flowering in the late flowering accessions originally collected from higher rainfall (> 1300 mm) areas. Accessions of T. quartinianum consistently produced high forage yields than other species. Lower yields in 1985 and 1986 than in 1984 were associated with low ground temperatures. The highest average seed yields were produced by T. steudneri.