YUCHI-New Arrowleaf Clover
C. S. HOVELAND, Associate Professor
Department of Agronomy and Soils
YUCHI IS THE NAME given to a new
variety of arrowleaf clover (Trifoli-
umi cesicu.losun, Savi) that has been re-
leased by Auburn University Agricul-
tural Experiment Station. A reseeding
winter annual legume, the new variety is
adapted to well drained soils in Alabama.
It makes high yields of forage in late
winter and spring, maturing about 2
months later than crimson clover.
Named after an Indian tribe that once
inhabited east-central Alabama, Yuchi
is a selection of arrowleaf clover that
was introduced into the United States
from Italy in 1956. Three strains of the
clover, sometimes called blister clover,
were planted at the Experiment Station
Agronomy Farm in 1959. From these
strains, P. I. 233816 was tested and in-
creased as Yuchi. Seed of this strain
have also been planted at many locations
in Alabama by Soil Conservation Service
personnel in connection with their plant
materials work.
Performance of all introduced strains
of arrowleaf tested by the Auburn Sta-
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT
AUBURN UNIVERS!TY
STATION
Auburn, AlabamaE. V. Smith, Director
ion are reported in Leaflet 67, "Arrow-
%af Clover," published in 1962.
,'ARIETY , DESCRIPTION
Yuchi arrowleaf clover makes its early
;rowth from a leafy rosette, similar to
rimsoni clover, later producing branch-
fig stems that curve upward and attain
length of 24 to 40 inches. The stems
are often purple and become fibrous and
,ard near maturity.
Leaf petioles are 3 to 8 inches long,
-t the base of which are long white
tipules narrowed to a point. The leaves
re large, each of the three leaflets be-
*ig 1% to 8 inches long and 1 to 14
,ches wide. Each arrow-shaped, non-
airy leaflet has pronounced veins and
levelops a white V-shaped mark as it
natures. Considerable variation in plant
ype occurs within the variety.
The flower heads are conical; often
exceeding 2 inches in length and 11
inches in diameter. From 150 to 170 in-
dividual florets make up the head. Florets
begin maturing at the base of the head,
being white at first and later turning
purple. This gives the head a purple
and white striped appearance. Each of
the florets produces 2 to 8 seeds. The
rough brown seed are about twice the
size of white clover seed. There are
about 400,000 seed per pound.
PERFORMANCE OF YUCHI
Yuchi arrowleaf has been tested since
1960 at 10 Alabama locations by the
Agricultural Experiment Station. It has
been compared with crimson and ball
clovers, and with Amclo arrowleaf clover
(P. I. 234310 that was increased and re-
leased by the Georgia Agricultural Ex-
periment Station). In these replicated
tests, clipping was begun when the clo-
'ABLE 1. COMPARISON OF TOTAL AND WINTER FORAGE PRODUCTION OF ARROWLEAF,
CRIMSON, AND BALL CLOVERS
Per acre yield of dry forage
Location' Season Yuchi Amclo Autauga Ball
arrowleafarrowleaf crimson
.V.A. Forage Research Area,
Vilson Dam (Sango silt loam)
Jexandria Experiment Field
IDecatur clay)
'iedmont Substation
Cecil sandy loam)
'rattville Experiment 
Field
Greenville fine sandy loam)
lack Belt Substation
Sumter clay)
uskegee Experiment 
Field
Boswell fine sandy loam)
1lant Breeding Unit
Cahaba fine sandy loam)
donroeville Experiment Field
Magnolia fine sandy loam)
,rewton Experiment Field
Kalmia fine sandy loam)
_ulf Coast Substation
Marlboro fine sandy loam)
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Winter
Total
Lb.
1,460
5,330
1,907
3,726
845
3,866
538
1,593
456
3,156
838
3,461
801
3,461
207
8,116
Lb.
1,128
4,438
1,551
3,820
415
2,459
516
.2,528
416
1,501
684
2,745
Lb.
1,540
5,844
2,602
4,697
800
2,754
1,010
2,770
860
4,2483
1,577
3,688
1,020
2,730
939
3,357
Lb.
1,256
5,770
1,348
4,180
960
5,186
477
2,702
339
2,121
652
4,452
1,020
4,450
3,013
1,107 739 1,585 958
4,568 3,835 4,166 2,922
are for 2 years and
1 Data from Prattville Experiment Field and Gulf Coast Substation
Yom Plant Breeding Unit are for 3 years; all others are 1-year results.
r\ rri m.
vers, but lower than that of sericea. It is
not known whether tannin content is
high enough to cause any undesirable
nutritive effects.
Livestock have grazed the new clover
well. No animal gain data are available
at present, although research on this
question is in progress.
Seed Production
Yuchi arrowleaf begins blooming in
late May or early June and matures seed
in late June or July. The Amclo variety
blooms about 2 to 3 weeks earlier, as
shown in Figure 2.
The new variety is a good seed pro-
ducer. Seed are borne in clustered pods
Iproduced at tips of stems, which remain
erect. Direct combine harvesting of seed
is satisfactory, although shattering may
ie a problem.
Since Yuchi arrowleaf is self-sterile, it
must be cross pollinated by insects. 
Thus,
seed growers must ensure an adequate
population of bees for 
pollination. Seed
yields of 200 pounds 
per acre should 
be
possible.
SEEDING DETAILS
Certified seed of the Yuchi variety are
available. Seeding rate is 5 to 8 pounds
of scarified seed per acre.
Seed of Yuchi arrowleaf germinate
well at low temperatures, Table 3. This
means that it can be expected to germi-
FIG. 2. Amclo arrowleaf (left) in bloom is
compared with Yuchi variety (right) still in
vegetative stage. The photo was made May
18 at Plant Breeding Unit, Tallassee.
TABLE 3. GERMINATION OF SCARIFIED CLO-
VElR SEED AS AFFECTED BY TEMPERATURE
Temperature (F.)
Continuous 70
Alternating
100?-8 hr., 70'-16 hr.
40)-8 hr., 70'-16 hr.
Per cent germination
Crim- Ball Arrow-
son leaf
96 94 98
62 20 24
42 98 96
nate better in late fall when moisture
conditions in Alabama are generally more
favorable than during early fall. At high
temperatures, however, Yuchi germina-
tion is considerably less than that of crim-
son clover.
A special inoculant for arrowleaf clover
is available commercially and should be
used for Yuchi. Poor inoculation is some-
times a problem with arrowleaf the first
year on sandy soil. However, reseeding
stands generally have been well inocu-
lated.
Yuchi has shown excellent reseeding
ability. Hard seed content of combine
harvested seed may exceed 80 per cent.
At Auburn, Yuchi arrowleaf has reseeded
for 4 years.
INSECTS AND DISEASES
No important insect or disease prob-
lems have been noted on Yuchi arrow-
leaf clover. Alfalfa weevil (Hypera pos-
tica, Gyll.) numblers have been extremely
low on arrowleaf plots adjacent to mike
clover, which was severely damaged by
large numbers of weevils. Clover head
weevil (HIypera meles) populations were
much lower on Yuchi than on ball or
crimson clover when weevil counts were
made weekly.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The autho ;cknowledges assistance of Dr.
1). A. Mays, VA, Wilson Dam; F. T. 
Glaze,
Alex .:adria I:;leriment Field; E. L. Mavton,
li,' .o)lnt Substation; J. \V. Langfo, ' a!.nt
Irie, ling Unit; F1. E. Bertram, Pratt and
lTuskegee Experiment Fields; L. A oith
and II. W. Grimes, Black Belt Subsi.ition;
J. W\. Richardson, Brewton and Monroeville
Experiment Fields; 11. F. Yates and J. E.
Barrett, Gulf Coast Substatioi.
ver was 6 inches tall and plots were
clipped thereafter at approximately
monthly intervals.
Forage Yields
Total yields of Yuchi arrowleaf under
the frequent clipping schedule have gen-
erally equalled those of crimson clover,
Table 1. When cut only one time in the
hay stage, Yuchi yields have averaged 2
to 3 times those of crimson clover.
Winter forage production of Yuchi ar-
rowleaf has been lower than that of
crimson clover since it makes its growth
later. Winter forage yields listed in Table
I are for production before early March.
If moisture conditions 
are favorable,
Yuchi arrowleaf will continue to grow
for about 2 months longer than crimson
and 1 month after ball clover matures.
Yuchi grown in combination with rye
or ryegrass has been productive over a
longer period than crimson clover, Table
2. Since arrowleaf clover makes much
of its growth in late spring, it may suffer
during hot, dry weather in May. How-
ever, drought resistance of the new vari-
ety appears to be excellent and recovery
is rapid after rains. Poor recovery growth
has been observed when it was cut close
in late spring.
Yuchi has made more winter growth
and greater total production than the
Amclo variety of arrowleaf. It has also
FIG. 1. Effect of 3 months' continuous
flooding on growth of clovers in greenhouse
is illustrated. Left to right are orrowleaf,
ball, crimson, and white clovers.
remained leafy later in the spring than
Amelo.
Poor growth of arrowleaf clovers has
resulted on soils that are poorly drained.
Field and greenhouse observations in-
dicate that Yuchi is less tolerant of poor
drainage than ball or white clovers, Fig-
ure 1.
Like crimson clover, Yuchi arrowleaf
is not adapted to lime soils of the Black
Belt. On Sumter clay at the Black Belt
Substation, Yuchi plants were chlorotic
and made little growth until late spring.
Forage Quality
Forage of Yuchi arrowleaf clipped at
monthly intervals contained 24 to 29 per
cent crude protein in March and April,
which is similar to that of crimson clover.
Forage quality can be expected to de-
cline during May and June. Leaf tannin
content is higher than that of other clo-
TABLE 2. WINTEr FORAGE PRODUCTION OF CLOVIE-GRASS MIXTURES AT PRATTVILLE,
1963-64
Mixture Date growth measured Total
Jan. 4 Mar. 6 Mar. 30 Apr. 23 May 28
Abruzzi rye and Yuchi arrowleaf
Dry forage per acre, pound,
Per cent clover -
Abruzzi rye and crimson clover
Dry forage per acre, pounds
Per cent clover . .... --
Rescuegrass and Yuchi arrowleaf
Dry forage per acre, pounds ....
Per cent clover - -...
Rescuegrass and crimson clover
Dry forage per acre, pounds
Per cent clover -
1,430 1,355 1,510 1,841 689
0 6 60 95 99
1,355 1,524 1,991 799 0
1 6 68 94 0
0 754 2,848 1,056 1,514
0 50 72 82 72
0 681 3,263 323 572
0 50 78 11 0
6,825
5,669
6,172
4,839