Ideal combination of

production and persistence.

Ideal combination of

production and persistence.

Sensation

ULTIMATE FOR SILAGE SYSTEMS.

Heading Date Mid-Season
Phyto-oestrogen Mid
Leaf Size Medium
Pasture Life Perennial
Grazing Seasons Spring, Summer

Red clover has proven to be an important forage legume, particularly in the late summer and autumn, when soil moisture levels, temperature and pests can limittraditional ryegrass/white clover pasture growth. Red clover provides significantly higher legume production levels over the summer months compared to white clover, (two to three times) due to its ability to grow under drier soil conditions. Red clovers therefore provide a very effective pasture component for finishing stock over summer. One of the major break throughs in breeding red clover is a reduction in formononetin levels (an oestrogen compound), which can reduce reproductive performance in sheep. Grasslands Sensation formononetin levels are around 60% of Pawera.

A diploid early flowering red clover
Bred for persistence under close grazing
High yielding cultivar with excellent spring production
High levels of natural reseeding
Reduced levels of formononetin (oestrogen)

Red clover has significantly better tolerance to clover root weevil (CRW) than white clover. Sensation red clover was selected as a productive, upright growing cultivar, which gave improved tolerance to close grazing. Some Swiss material was included in the breeding to give better cold tolerance to winter chilling and to improve the productivity of Sensation in the spring.

Performance Data

Sensation is one of the earliest flowering red clover cultivars on the New Zealand market, resulting in improved late winter and spring production, without losing the summer production advantage that red clover exhibits over white clover. Sensation’s flowering date is approximately two weeks earlier than Colenso red clover and five weeks earlier than Grasslands G27.
Sensation has only moderate levels of formononetin allowing Sensation to be used in pasture mixes without any major concerns for animal reproductive effects. Sensation can be the sole red clover used in a mix or combined with the later flowering G27 red clover to extend the seasonal growth of red clover in the pasture. Sensation exhibits high levels of natural reseeding, so that when it is spelled within a pasture sward this allows good seed banks of Sensation to be built up in the soil.