Birdsfoot Trefoil

Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)

Plant Species
From Montana Interagency Plant Materials Handbook *
By S. Smoliak, R.L. Ditterline, J.D. Scheetz, L.K. Holzworth, J.R. Sims, L.E. Wiesner, D.E. Baldridge, and G.L. Tibke

Little is known of the origin and early use of birdsfoot trefoil. It is widely distributed in Europe and was first described there in 1597. The use of the plant as a cultivated species was first recorded in Europe about 1900. It was first reported in North America in 1934, and has now become a valuable forage crop.

Description

Birdsfoot trefoil is a long-lived perennial. The mature birdsfoot trefoil plant has a deep taproot with many laterals. It is a leafy legume with fine stems that are prostrate to erect. The stems are branched and usually 1 to 2 feet in length. The leaflets are trifoliate, palmate and oval with a pointed tip. The flowers resemble those of the pea plant. They are bright yellow with orange to red-tinged areas. The pods have the shape of a bird's foot, and are attached at right angles to each other. The pods are approximately 1 inch long, slender and change from green to tan to brown at maturity. The seed is very small, about one-quarter to one-half (400,000 per pound) the size of alfalfa seed. They are oval to spherical in shape, with color varying from light to dark brown. The seed tends to be speckled with dark spots. Birdsfoot trefoil is a cross-pollinated crop, but some self-pollination does occur.

Adaptation

Alfalfa is the most widely-grown legume in Montana, but under some agronomic conditions birdsfoot trefoil is superior. It performs much better than alfalfa on poorly-drained, clay soils and establishes easier than ladino clover under dryland conditions. Birdsfoot trefoil can survive several weeks of flooding and can tolerate some soil acidity, alkalinity and salinity. Compared to alfalfa, it does well on low-fertility soils, and has been grown successfully on some high-organic soils. It reseeds itself and fills in a stand.

Limitations

Although good yields have been produced the first utilization year in more moist areas, it is reported to require two years to become well established. Therefore, it should be used lightly in the first utilization year. Like alfalfa, it is subject to depletion of root food reserves in autumn and this aggravates its lack of winterhardiness. Also, it is intolerant of competition from other plants, particularly tall ones that shade it, such as smooth bromegrass and timothy. This is such a great problem during establishment that nurse crops should be avoided and weeds must be controlled. It grows best alone rather than in mixtures although simple mixtures with nonaggressive grasses have shown promise in some cases. It should not be seeded where aggressive perennial weeds such as quackgrass or Canada thistle are present.

Seeds are very small and will not emerge if seeded too deeply. A firm seedbed and very shallow setting, 1/4 to 1/2 inch, are especially important. Birdsfoot trefoil must be inoculated with a specific Rhizobium species for nitrogen fixation to occur. This is particularly important since soil that has not grown birdsfoot trefoil is sure to lack the correct Rhizobium species.

Use for Hay

Birdsfoot trefoil is well suited to hay harvesting although only one cutting can be obtained. It generally yields about two-thirds as much as alfalfa. It contains a fairly high amount of water and is more difficult to dry than alfalfa.

Birdsfoot trefoil produces good leafy, high-quality forage, comparable to alfalfa, when cut for hay in the early bloom stage of growth. It also produces well when grown in a grass mixture; therefore can serve a dual purpose, hay and pasture.

Because heavy crops lodge, cutting them is more difficult and a lodged crop will kill out if not harvested soon after falling. When the growth gets rank and tall, it is better to harvest the crop as hay and then pasture the regrowth.

Use for Pasture

Birdsfoot trefoil withstands grazing better than most other legumes. Bloat is no problem and palatability is fairly high so that good livestock control is necessary to prevent overgrazing. Production is well distributed throughout the grazing season, but four to six weeks are required to obtain a regrowth of 6 to 10 inches between grazings. Birdsfoot trefoil grows and yields well during the summer months. Regrowth after haying can be pastured, but grazing must be timed to avoid root food depletion before winter. Birds-foot trefoil has the potential to provide productive and nutritious pasture for many years in the areas for which it is adapted.

Maintenance of the species as a pasture does not require the same skill in pasture management as does alfalfa, for it will regrow from its own seed. It is, however, 10 percent to 15 percent lower yielding than alfalfa. Birds-foot trefoil is palatable and has a high nutritive value

Seed Production

Seed production of birdsfoot trefoil is a problem because of shattering. The seed ripens unevenly so that one plant may have both mature and immature pods at the same time. Maximum seed yield is obtained when the first pods are brown and a good number have turned dark brown.

* The Montana Interagency Plant Materials Handbook (EB69) is no longer in print, but is available for viewing in
Montana County Extension Service and National Resource Conservation Service Offices.