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Abstract
A 2‐year trial evaluated the herbage production of a number of selected subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) cultivars and lines. Seedlings were transplanted into small plots on a cultivated area of less than 5° slope. Morphological characteristics, spring herbage production, isoflavone content, and summer/autumn seedling emergence were measured. Of the cultivars evaluated in this trial, only ‘Denmark’ proved to be an improvement on ‘Tallarook’, and this was only on the basis of early‐season growth. However, a number of lines in this trial stood out in terms of their growth during the spring period and their high level of seed production. They included AK 664, WS 1436, and WS 536. Herbage harvested over 3 months from pure swards exceeded the equivalent of 2700 kg DM/ha, and seed production exceeded 7000 seeds/m2. These lines also had tissue formononetin levels less than 0.20% of dry weight. These results will be combined with those from previous persistence trials to determine those lines suitable for further cultivar development.