A visual procedure for estimating stolon length of white clover per unit area in grazed pastures

Abstract

Stolon length per unit area is a useful measurement to make in studies of white clover, but is time consuming and seldom done in routine sampling of grazing experiments. This study explored the possibility of using a calibrated visual estimation technique to estimate stolon length per unit area in a grazed pasture in south‐east Queensland, Australia. Estimates were made of stolon presence in 50 quadrats on a 1–5 scale on 4 different occasions. These were converted to stolon length per unit area using a set of 10 standard quadrats which were estimated and then measured. The estimates on the 50 quadrats were then compared with their true values. Estimates of stolon length were very close to measured values and gave useful insight into seasonal changes in stolon length that were not detected by measurements of stolon presence/absence (% frequency). The procedure outlined could be readily incorporated with routine measurements of presentation yield and botanical composition made with the BOTANAL procedure.

Keywords:

• white clover
• Trifolium repens
• stolons
• estimation
• methods