Why Add Clovers to Pastures?
By C. P. Bagley
Beef Research Institute
Southern University Ag Center
While there are lots of grasses grown in Louisiana, the two predominant ones are warm-season (summer) perennials that include bermudagrass and bahiagrass. Both are well-adapted C-4 grasses that can be long-lived, withstand almost any grazing pressure, are highly productive, and grow best under warm temperatures. Generally, these grasses will not grow when nighttime temperatures are 50 degrees and below, and they slow down but do not stop growing under hot temperatures. On the contrast, most of our widely used clovers are termed “cool-season” plants, C-3, and they stop growing when temperatures get hot, but only slow down under cold temperatures.