Agronomic Characteristics of Lotus Corniculatus As a Tanniferous Forage for Sheep in the Northeast.

Sheep farming in the northeastern U.S. is challenged by intestinal parasites, the most prominent being Haemonchus contortus.  Lotus corniculatus (Birdsfoot trefoil) is a legume forage that can persist in poor quality soils and contains a range of levels of condensed tannin.  Other studies have shown that tanniferous forages suppress Haemonchus contortus in sheep. The main objective of the research is to evaluate birdsfoot trefoil populations for strong agronomic performance as a forage in the northeastern U.S. Six commercial varieties and 52 different accessions from the core subset at the National Plant Germplasm System were evaluated. Evaluation of data from field plantings using organic techniques will determine the agronomic performance of all 58 different populations based on growth habit, winter hardiness, and pest and disease damage. After the first season of agronomic data twenty promising accessions and the 6 commercial varieties were planted into a randomized block designed grazing trial with twenty repetition to evaluate for grazing tolerance. The 2013 field results for growth habit measured with a width: height ratio included a mean of 1.31, a range of 3.19 and a LSD of 3.39. Compared to 2014 results width: height ratio the mean was 0.88 and a range of 1.30 and a LSD of 0.08. Winter hardiness measured in 2014 resulted with a mean of 16.25 out of 20 plants survived, a range of 20 and an LSD of 3.25. Only in 2013 was plant damage a problem with total damaged plants out of 20 being measured, a mean of 9.86 plants were damaged, a range of 19 and an LSD of 11.90. The results will be cross referenced with the tannin profile and anthelmintic efficacy of each accession. The goal is to find a viable option for Northeast sheep famers to have a functional organic parasitic control technique.