Egyptian Clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) Improvement Over Decades from Traditional Selection to Next-Generation Breeding
摘要
Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), commonly known as berseem, is a valuable winter multicut annual forage legume. It is highly prized for its high green fodder yield, fast regeneration potential, high nutritive value and suitability for livestock feed. Compared to alfalfa, another popular winter forage crop, berseem offers similar feed value without the risk of bloat. Although slightly less drought tolerant, berseem thrives in high moisture and alkaline soils. One of its key advantages is its early autumn planting window, which provides essential forage during the colder months and peaks in productivity as spring temperatures rise. Beyond direct grazing (though less common), berseem demonstrates exceptional versatility. It can be ensiled with oats, chaffed and mixed with straw for feed or used as a green manure crop to enrich the soil properties. Furthermore, berseem possesses a multi-cut nature that allows for 4–8 cuts, resulting in a prolonged supply of high-quality forage (with 20% crude protein, up to 65% in-vitro dry matter digestibility and high palatability) from November to May. These attributes collectively contribute to Berseem’s popularity and productivity as a forage legume. This chapter aims to discuss the importance of Egyptian clover as a multicut Rabi fodder crop and its improvement using conventional plant breeding and advanced molecular approaches.