Editing Clover (section)

==Cultivation==
Several species of clover are extensively cultivated as [[Fodder|fodder plants]]. The most widely cultivated clovers are [[Trifolium repens|white clover]], ''Trifolium repens'', and [[Trifolium pratense|red clover]], ''Trifolium pratense''. Clover, either sown alone or in mixture with [[ryegrass]], has for a long time formed a staple crop for silaging, for several reasons: it grows freely, shooting up again after repeated mowings; it produces an abundant crop; it is palatable to and nutritious for [[livestock]]; it [[Nitrogen fixation|fixes nitrogen]] using symbiotic bacteria in its [[root nodules]], reducing the need for synthetic [[fertilizer]]s; it grows in a great range of [[soil]]s and [[climate]]s; and it is appropriate for either pasturage or [[green manure|green compost]]ing.<ref name=EB1911/>

{{anchor|clover sickness}}
In many areas, particularly on [[acidic soil]], clover is short-lived because of a combination of insect pests, diseases and nutrient balance; this is known as "clover sickness". When [[crop rotation]]s are managed so that clover does not recur at intervals shorter than eight years, it grows with much of its pristine vigor.<ref name=EB1911/>

Clovers are most efficiently pollinated by [[bumblebee]]s, which have declined as a result of agricultural intensification.<ref name="Bumbles make beeline for gardens, study suggests">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11822844 Bumbles make beeline for gardens, study suggests] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518105032/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11822844 |date=2018-05-18 }} Retrieved 27 November 2010.</ref> [[Honeybee]]s can also pollinate clover, and [[beekeeper]]s are often in heavy demand from farmers with clover pastures. Farmers reap the benefits of increased reseeding that occurs with increased bee activity, which means that future clover yields remain abundant. Beekeepers benefit from the clover bloom, as clover is one of the main [[Northern Nectar Sources for Honeybees|nectar sources for honeybees]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Oertel |first1=Everett |title=Beekeeping in the United States |date=1967 |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture |page=16 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiuhYroAuuoC&pg=PA16 |language=en |access-date=2022-03-11 |archive-date=2023-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116073109/https://books.google.com/books?id=iiuhYroAuuoC&pg=PA16 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''[[Trifolium repens]]'', white or Dutch clover, is a perennial abundant in meadows and good pastures. The flowers are white or pinkish, becoming brown and deflexed as the corolla fades. ''[[Trifolium hybridum]]'', alsike or Swedish clover, is a perennial which was introduced early in the 19th century and has now become naturalized in Britain. The flowers are white or rosy, and resemble those of ''Trifolium repens''. ''[[Trifolium medium]]'', meadow or zigzag clover, a perennial with straggling [[flexuous]] stems and rose-purple flowers,<ref name=EB1911/> has potential for interbreeding with ''T. pratense'' to produce perennial crop plants.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Isobe, S. |author2=Sawai, A. |author3=Yamaguchi, H. |author4=Gau, M. |author5=Uchiyama, K. |year=2002 |title=Breeding potential of the backcross progenies of a hybrid between ''Trifolium medium'' × ''T. pratense'' to ''T. pratense'' |journal=Canadian Journal of Plant Science |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=395–399 |doi=10.4141/P01-034 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Other species are: ''[[Trifolium arvense]]'', hare's-foot trefoil; found in fields and dry pastures, a soft hairy plant with minute white or pale pink flowers and feathery sepals; ''[[Trifolium fragiferum]]'', strawberry clover, with globose, rose-purple heads and swollen calyxes; ''[[Trifolium campestre]]'', hop trefoil, on dry pastures and roadsides, the heads of pale yellow flowers suggesting miniature hops; and the somewhat similar ''[[Trifolium dubium]]'', common in pastures and roadsides, with smaller heads and small yellow flowers turning dark brown.<ref name=EB1911/>