By: Institute Staff
Most hunters and managers are already aware that Imperial Whitetail Clover is the No. 1 food plot planting in the world. If you’ve wanted the perennial performance of Imperial Whitetail Clover plus the early tonnage and late-season availability of the Whitetail Institute’s annual brassicas, Double-Cross is your answer.
The perennial components of Double-Cross are Advantage and Insight, the same perennial clovers that are the backbone of Imperial Whitetail Clover. Advantage and Insight, are the only clovers ever specifically developed for deer — a big reason why Imperial Whitetail Clover remains the gold standard by which all other forage blends are compared. These clover varieties are also only available in Whitetail Institute products. Advantage and Insight were developed by Dr. Wiley Johnson, the Whitetail Institute’s first Director of Forage Research. Dr. Johnson started by carefully selecting candidate clovers from Italy, the Middle East and the United States for use as breeding stock. He then cross bred these, discarded all but the best resulting hybrids, and then repeated the process. One of the keys to why Advantage and Insight work so well lies in the goals Dr. Johnson used during this hybridization process; goals that would make Imperial Whitetail Clover the best clover product available for whitetail deer food plots, including early seedling establishment, heat and drought tolerance, palatability and, of course, high nutritional content and attractiveness to deer.
Imperial Whitetail Clover was then tested in real-world situations on deer all across the United States and Canada. And when Whitetail Institute staffers says they “test under real-world conditions,” they mean it. Whitetail Institute testing is extremely rigorous.
Double-Cross adds to the already incredible performance of Advantage and Insight even further by combining them with the Whitetail Institute’s annual brassicas, which have proven themselves in other Whitetail Institute forage blends, such as Imperial Whitetail Pure Attraction and Imperial Whitetail Winter-Greens. As a result, Double-Cross provides the perennial performance field testers have come to expect from Imperial Whitetail Clover — the increased early tonnage and late-season availability of Whitetail Institute brassicas — all in one planting.
Designed for planting in fall, Double-Cross establishes and grows quickly, producing lots of tender, early growth as the clovers emerge and provide deer with a lush, palatable food source. The brassicas in Double-Cross include unique “lettuce types” — brassicas with a vegetable genetic background that are extremely attractive to deer.
When frosts arrive later in fall, an enzyme converts starches in the plants to sugars, making the brassicas in Double-Cross even more attractive. Later, when colder weather sets in, the brassicas in Double-Cross stand tall in the snow, providing deer with lots of carbohydrates essential for energy production in winter. As winter ends and spring approaches, natural food sources are all but nonexistent, and what sources there are usually aren’t very palatable to or easily digested by deer. And it’s that time of year that nutrition is so critical.
After winter, the clovers in Double-Cross are the first thing to green up, providing deer with the abundant protein they need during this critical time when deer are trying to recover their winter health losses, does are pregnant and bucks are preparing to re-grow antlers. And when spring finally arrives, the perennial clovers in Double-Cross continue to provide a tender, protein-rich forage for does during their third trimester of pregnancy and bucks as they re-grow antlers.
Like all Imperial Whitetail products, Double-Cross is specifically designed for deer. Double-Cross is designed to be planted in fall, and in soils that are loam, light clay or heavier. The perennial clovers in Double-Cross are designed to last for three to five years or even longer with proper planting, maintenance and Mother Nature’s cooperation.
One 4-pound bag of Double-Cross will plant up to one-half acre and, like other Imperial blends, it’s also available in larger sizes. It is a great option for folks who have wished for a perennial blend with added benefits of a highly productive fall/winter annual all in the same blend. Full planting instructions are available on the Institute’s Web site, http://www.whitetailinstitute.com/, and on the back of each Double-Cross product bag. If you’d like additional information about Double-Cross, our in-house consultants are available to assist you from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Central Time, Monday through Friday, at (800) 688-3030.
