Abstract Forage legumes provide a wide range of ecosystem services to grasslands. Improving legume proportion and species diversity of meadow fescue Lolium pratense (Huds.) Darbysh pasture‐based systems can increase the sustainability of a given farming system. This study compared no‐till or frost‐seeding methods to incorporate clovers ( Trifolium spp.) or chicory ( Cichorium intybus L.) into an established meadow fescue sward as pasture‐improvement strategies. No‐till planting occurred in the fall or spring of 2022 and 2023, and frost seeding occurred during the winter of each year. In addition, this study aimed to quantify biological N 2 fixation (BNF) from the interseeded clovers. Chicory failed to establish in both years of the study, comprising less than 2% of the botanical composition. While no‐till planting in the fall or spring, or frost seeding during the winter were successful at establishing clovers, frost seeding may be a more attractive method provided that it may be more economical, requiring less specialized equipment. No‐till interseeding in the fall or spring are also adequate strategies. Overall, red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) was more productive than white clover ( Trifolium repens L.) in the first year after planting. Further evaluations into persistence after the first year of clover planting are warranted. As a whole, interseeding clovers into meadow fescue pastures is indeed valuable for improving pasture systems by increasing forage accumulation and fixing up to 20 kg N ha −1 year −1 .
Jaramillo et al. (Sun,) studied this question.