Alfalfa, pronounced mù xu.

It is the common name for plants of the genus alfalfa (Medicago), commonly known as goldenrod, a perennial flowering plant. The best known of these is alfalfa (Medicago sativa), which is used as a pasture grass. There are many different kinds of alfalfa, mostly wild herbs.

There are three main types of alfalfa produced in China. It is highly nutritious and has the effect of clearing the spleen and stomach, benefiting the large and small intestines, and lowering bladder stones. Alfalfa contains the richest vitamin K, the composition of the high, driving above all vegetables. Other vitamins such as vitamin C and B are also quite rich. It is mostly used as livestock feed. Introduced from the Western Regions in the Western Han Dynasty.

Morphology like clover, drought-resistant, heat and cold-resistant, high yield and quality, and can improve the soil, and therefore known. Widely cultivated, mainly used to make hay, silage or used as pasture.

Expanded Information:

One, morphology and characteristics

Annual or perennial grasses Leaves pinnately compound, alternate; stipules partly united with petiole, entire or toothed; leaflets 3, margins usually serrate, lateral veins straight to apices.

Racemes axillary, sometimes capitate or solitary, flowers small, usually pedicellate; bracts small or absent; calyx campanulate or tubular, calyx teeth 5, equal; corolla yellow, alfalfa and other hybrids often purple, corvid green, brown, etc.

Flag petals obovate to oblong, base narrow, often reflexed, wing petals oblong, one side with tooth-tipped protuberances and auricles of keel petals hooked to each other, disengaged after pollination, keel petals obtuse; stamens two-bodied, filaments apically not expanded, anthers homomorphic.

Styles short, conical or linear, slightly flattened on both sides, glabrous, stigmas terminal, ovary linear, sessile or shortly stipitate, ovules 1 to many. Pods spirally twisted, reniform, falcate, or nearly straight, longer than the calyx, dorsal suture often angular or spiny.

There are 1 to many seeds. Seeds small, usually smooth, more or less reniform, without caruncle; seedling emergence cotyledon base not expanded, also without joints.

Two, application value

Clover is known as the "king of pasture", not only high yield, but also excellent quality of grass, a variety of livestock and poultry are happy to eat. The planting area of alfalfa in China is about 1.33 million hm^2.

With the development of commodity economy, the industrialization scale of alfalfa develops faster, and the planting area of alfalfa is expanding. In order to plant alfalfa more scientifically and improve the quality and yield of alfalfa products, the technical points of alfalfa farming and cultivation management are introduced as follows:

The primary roots of alfalfa can penetrate deep into the ground. When the plant grows for more than 20 years, if the subsoil is porous, the primary root can reach more than 15 meters (50 feet) deep, so alfalfa is extremely tolerant to drought.

Seedling roots can penetrate 90 centimeters into the soil at 2 months of growth and 180 centimeters (6 feet) at 5 months. It is common for newly planted alfalfa to tolerate severe summer droughts, while other legumes with shallow, branching root systems die from drought intolerance.

Alfalfa stems and branches are harvested and quickly regenerate large numbers of new stems, so hay can be harvested from one to as many as 13 times per growing season. The number of harvests and the total yield per growing season are largely determined by the length of the growing season, soil suitability, availability of sunlight, and especially the amount and distribution of rainfall and irrigation during the growing season.

The green leafy alfalfa hay is rich in nutrients and is a favorite food for livestock, containing about 16% protein and 8% minerals, and is rich in vitamins A, E, D, and K.

Alfalfa contains a large amount of crude protein, rich in carbohydrates, and a variety of micro-nutrients such as the B vitamins, vitamins C and E, and iron, which are not only used in livestock, but also is one of the oldest foods for human beings.

People mainly eat alfalfa in early spring when the young shoots, alfalfa buds high nutrient content, rich in dietary fiber, and only a small amount of sugar, calories are very low, is a good high-fiber low-calorie food.

Reference:

Baidu Encyclopedia - Alfalfa