The grassy fodder plant of the legume family in Russia is represented by several options. First of all, it is white, pink or red clover. It has remarkable fodder qualities, is rich in protein and is successfully used as livestock feed (hence the name - fodder plant).
The most common culture is precisely red clover, which has been cultivated in our country for more than two hundred years. The plant loves moist soil, fertilized with organic matter and mineral mixtures, develops well on neutral or slightly acidic soils. The pink variety is more demanding on the earth and has a slightly bitter taste, so it is eaten worse by animals.
There is another valuable herbaceous fodder plant in the legume family. This is alfalfa. The culture is widespread due to the high digestibility of feed and record fertility in the southern regions. Providing heat and moisture, you can get up to 7 cuttings (about 250 centners of hay) per hectare. In areas with no additional irrigation, you can collect about 90 centners per hectare for 2-3 mowing during one season.
Such a fodder plant of the legume family, such as sainfoin, grows well on chernozems, in the forest-steppe and steppe. It can successfully develop on stony soils rich in lime, it is a honey plant. Sainfoin is cultivated mainly in the North Caucasus, tolerates drought, giving about 22 feed units per centner of the crop when consumed by animals.
Another herbaceous fodder plant of the legume family has been known since ancient Rome and is called "vetch". It is grown in the Caucasus, in some central regions of the Russian Federation, as well as in Belarus. From the crop, grain, silage, hay and green fodder are obtained. Moreover, the latter contains 22 feed units per centner of mass. From one hectare, subject to agricultural technology, 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 at livestock farms.
Where does the most unpretentious grassy fodder plant of the legume family grow? In terms of resistance to external influences, the sowing rank is in the lead. Its high frost resistance (withstands temperatures up to minus seven degrees Celsius), undemanding to soils, and drought tolerance make it possible to extend the range of cultivation to Western Siberia. The growing season (about 112 days) makes it possible to obtain in central Russia about 230 centners of plants in green form or about 17 centners of grain per hectare. Culture is gladly eaten by horses and sheep; cattle are less willing to eat it .
The herbaceous plant of the legume family was known in ancient Egypt. It was used to power both animals and humans (beans). Today it is used to produce green fertilizers, as well as as a feed crop. From one hectare of yellow lupine crops, you can collect up to 400 quintals of plant green mass or about 15 centners of grain. At the same time, the plant does not contain dangerous alkaloids, because in the mid-30s of the twentieth century new varieties were developed in the USSR that meet the requirements of food safety.
In addition, in the western regions of the Russian Federation and Belarus you can find such a culture as seradella, which is perfectly adapted for poor sandy and sandy soils. When applying manure per hectare, you can get up to 298 centners of green mass, which goes to livestock feed. The culture also grows quickly after mowing, which provides excellent opportunities for grazing animals.