Herbaceous fodder plant family of legumes: the most common species

The herbaceous forage plant of the legume family in Russia is represented by several variants. First of all it is white, pink or red clover. It has remarkable forage qualities, is rich in protein and is successfully used as a feed for livestock (hence the name - fodder plant).

The most common culture is the red clover, which in our country has been cultivated for more than two hundred years. The plant likes moist soil, fertilized with organic and mineral mixtures, it develops well on neutral or slightly acidic soils. The pink variety is more demanding to the ground and has a slightly bitter taste, therefore it is worse eaten by animals.

There is another valuable herbaceous forage plant of the legume family. This is alfalfa. Culture is common because of high digestibility of fodder and record fertility in the southern regions. When providing heat and moisture, you can get up to 7 cuttings (about 250 centners of hay) per hectare. On plots with no additional watering, you can collect about 90 centners per hectare for 2-3 mowing within one season.

Such a forage plant of the legume family, like sainfoin, grows well on chernozems, in the forest-steppe and steppe. It can successfully develop on stony soils rich in lime, is a mead. Esparcet is cultivated mainly in the North Caucasus, tolerates droughts, giving about 22 fodder units per centner of a crop when consumed by animals.

Another herbaceous fodder plant of the legume family has been known since the time of Ancient Rome and is called "vetch". It is grown in the Caucasus, in some central regions of Russia, as well as in Belarus. Grain, silage, hay and green forage are obtained from the crop. The latter contains 22 feed units per centner of mass. From one hectare, observing agrotechnics, it is possible to collect up to 20 centners of grain or about 250 centners of green plant mass, which makes the crop very attractive for participation in crop rotation in livestock farms.

Where does the most unpretentious herbaceous forage of the legume family grow? In terms of resistance to external influences, the rank is in the lead. Its high frost resistance (withstands temperatures to minus seven degrees Celsius), undemanding to the soil, and drought resistance, make it possible to extend the cultivation area to Western Siberia. The vegetation period (about 112 days) makes it possible to get about 230 centners of green plants or about 17 centners of grain per hectare in the central strip of Russia. Culture is eagerly eaten by horses and sheep, less readily consumed by cattle.

The herbaceous plant of the legume lupine family was already known in ancient Egypt. It was used to feed both animals and humans (beans). Today it is used for obtaining green fertilizers, as well as forage crops. From one hectare of yellow lupine crops, it is possible to harvest up to 400 centners of plant green mass or about 15 quintals of grain. In this plant does not contain dangerous alkaloids, because in the mid-30s of the twentieth century in the USSR new varieties were developed that meet the requirements of food safety.

In addition, in the western regions of the Russian Federation and in Belarus one can find a culture such as the Seradella, which is perfectly adapted for poor sandy loamy and sandy soils. When manure is applied from one hectare, it is possible to obtain up to 298 centners of green mass, which goes to feed livestock. Also, the culture quickly grows after mowing, which provides excellent opportunities for grazing animals.