The Whitetail Institute’s Double-Cross forage blend combines the number one food-plot planting in the world, Imperial Whitetail Clover, with the proven superiority of Whitetail Institute forage brassicas, increasing early plot production and providing even more tonnage in the late season.
Any introduction of Double-Cross must start with the recognition of its basis, Imperial Whitetail Clover, the number-one food-plot planting in the world. Imperial Whitetail Clover is truly the gold standard by which all other deer-forage products are measured. Imperial Whitetail Clover contains Advantage and Insight clovers, which are the only clovers ever specifically bred for use in whitetail food plots. Because they were to be bred for deer, our research and development staff set very specific goals. These included early seedling establishment, heat and drought tolerance, palatability and, of course, high nutritional content and unsurpassed attractiveness to deer. Advantage and Insight clovers are available only in Whitetail Institute products. The other major component of Double-Cross is Whitetail Institute brassicas. Brassicas tend to fill a specific niche in that they grow quickly and become sweeter with the first frosts of fall. Once they are subjected to a hard frost, an enzyme in the plants converts starches in the plants to sugars, which makes them even more attractive. The Whitetail Institute has utilized brassicas since 1992 as a timing element in some of its blends, including its second longest-running product, Imperial No Plow. In that role, the brassicas serve as a timing element to complement the annual clovers and other forage varieties in the blend. Later, the Institute introduced its first all-brassica blend, Imperial Winter-Greens. Winter-Greens contains truly revolutionary brassica varieties. The brassicas in Winter-Greens are lettuce-types — brassicas with a vegetable genetic base. Tests of Winter-Greens have repeatedly confirmed that deer prefer them at least 4 to 1 over other brassica products. Like other Whitetail Institute products, new Double-Cross is specially formulated for deer. Double-Cross combines the proven perennial performance of Imperial Whitetail Clover with brassicas from No-Plow and Winter-Greens. The new blend establishes and grows even more quickly, produces more early tonnage and provides more late-season forage than either Imperial Clover or brassica alone.
Early Season — First Fall: Double-Cross is designed to produce a variety of forage-plant options for your deer, and do it in a hurry. Like other Imperial perennial blends, Double-Cross contains Golden Jumpstart to help get your plot up and going quickly. By adding the Whitetail Institute’s proven brassicas, which are larger forage plants that also establish and grow quickly, your plot can have even more early forage available to your deer,
Later-Season — First Fall and Winter: Later in the fall, the perennial clovers in Double-Cross provide a highly nutritious forage source. The perennial clovers in DOUBLE CROSS are designed to be cold-tolerant and can stay green and palatable even under the snow. The brassicas in DOUBLECROSS become even sweeter after the first frosts of fall, providing additional, highly nutritious food for deer with the onset of late fall and winter. Later, when the weather turns cold, these brassicas become sweeter and can stand tall above the snow to provide an extremely attractive late-season food source. Like Imperial Whitetail Clover, Double Cross is highly nutritious. It provides high levels of protein, and with the addition of brassicas, Double-Cross also provides substantial levels of carbohydrates, which are critical to deer survival and health during the coldest months of winter.
Perennial Performance: Once the brassicas do their job during the cold months of winter, the perennial part of the blend, Imperial Whitetail Clover, is ready before spring green up to provide deer with critical protein. The months just before spring green-up are among the most nutritionally important, as deer recover from winter stress, bucks prepare to re-grow antlers, and does enter the later stages of pregnancy. If you have been looking for a perennial blend with the proven performance of Imperial Whitetail Clover, plus the increased early- and late-season tonnage of brassicas, Double-Cross is your answer. Double-Cross will draw and hold deer on your property, provide the nutrition needed to grow bigger bucks and improve the quality of your deer! Double-Cross should be planted in soils that are loam, light clay or heavier. One 4-pound bag of Double-Cross will plant up to 1/2 acre. One 18-pound bag of Double-Cross will plant up to 2.25 acres. Additional information is available at www.whitetailinstitute.com, or by calling the Institute’s consultants at (800) 688-3030.
