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A southwest Asian perennial herb (Medicago sativa) having compound leaves with three leaflets and clusters of usually blue-violet flowers. It is widely cultivated as a pasture and hay crop.
[Spanish, from Arabic al-faṣfaṣa : al-, the + faṣfaṣa, alfalfa (variant of fiṣfiṣa, from Persian aspist, clover).]
The world's most valuable forage legume, Medicago sativa, known also as lucerne. It is grown for hay, pasture, and silage. Valued highly as livestock feed, alfalfa hay cut at a late bud or early bloom stage (and cured properly) contains 17–24% protein and is a good source of certain vitamins and minerals. See also Rosales.
Alfalfa is a herbaceous perennial legume characterized by a deep taproot, which shows a varying degree of branching. Erect or semierect stems, bearing an abundance of leaves, grow to a height of 2–3 ft (0.6–0.9 m). The number of stems arising from a single woody crown may vary from just a few to 50 or more. New stems develop when older ones are mature or have been cut or grazed. Flowers are borne on axillary racemes which vary greatly in size and number of flowers. Flower color is predominantly purple, or bluish-purple, but white, cream, yellow, green, lavender, and reddish-purple occur. The fruit is a legume, or pod, usually spirally coiled in M. sativa, but crescent-shaped or straight in M. falcata. Seeds are small and the color varies from yellow to brown.
Reproduction in alfalfa is mainly by cross-fertilization. Pollination is effected largely by bees. Seed production is favored by bright sunny days, cool nights, an abundance of bees, and dry weather for harvesting.
Alfalfa is widely adapted to temperate and subtropical climates and soils. It is grown from 40°S in Argentina and New Zealand to 60°N in Canada, Sweden, and Russia. It is not well adapted to humid tropical conditions.
Deep fertile loams are best and good drainage is essential. The water requirement for sustained high yields is great, and moisture deficiency often is a serious limiting factor in areas dependent on natural rainfall.
More than 80 improved cultivars of alfalfa are recognized as eligible for seed certification in the United States. These trace to three basic stocks: M. sativa, purple-flowered, narrow-crowned, and erect; M. falcata, yellow-flowered, somewhat prostrate, with deep-set crown and branching roots; and an intermediate form, often called variegated, derived from crossing M. sativa and M. falcata.
Or lucerne, Medicago sativa, commonly grown for animal feed and silage; the seeds can be soaked in water to germinate and then eaten as sprouts.
[al-FAL-fuh] Though alfalfa is generally grown for fodder, the seeds are also sprouted for human consumption. Alfalfa sprouts are popular in salads and on sandwiches. See also sprouts.
Description
Alfalfa is the plant Medicago sativa. There are many subspecies. It is a perennial plant growing up to 30 in (0.75 m) in height in a wide range of soil condition. Its small flowers range from yellow to purple. Alfalfa is probably native to the area around the Mediterranean Sea, but it is extensively cultivated as fodder for livestock in all temperate climates.
Alfalfa is a member of the legume family. It has the ability to make nutrients available to other plants both through its very long, deep (6–16 ft [2–5 m]) root system, and because it has a hosts beneficial nitrogen-fixing bacteria. For these reasons it is often grown as a soil improver or "green manure." The medicinal parts of alfalfa are the whole plant and the seeds. It is used both in Western and traditional Chinese medicine. In Chinese it is called zi mu. Other names for alfalfa include buffalo grass, buffalo herb, Chilean clover, purple medick, purple medicle, and lucerne.
General Use
Alfalfa has been used for thousands of years in many parts of the world, as a source of food for people and livestock and as a medicinal herb. It is probably more useful as a source of easily accessible nutrients than as a medicinal herb. Alfalfa is an excellent source of most vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E, and K. Vitamin K is critical in blood clotting, so alfalfa may have some use in improving clotting. It also contains trace minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, and potassium. Alfalfa is also higher in protein than many other plant foods. This abundance of nutrients has made alfalfa a popular tonic for convalescents when brewed into tea.
In addition to using the seeds and leaves as food, alfalfa has a long history of folk use in Europe as a diuretic or "water pill." It is also said that alfalfa can lower cholesterol. Alfalfa is used as to treat arthritis, diabetes, digestive problems, weight loss, ulcers, kidney and bladder problems, prostate conditions, asthma, and hay fever. Alfalfa is also said to be estrogenic (estrogen-like).
Alfalfa is not native to the United States and did not arrive until around 1850. However, once introduced, it spread rapidly and was adapted by Native Americans as a food source for both humans and animals. The seeds were often ground and used as a flour to make mush. The leaves were eaten as vegetable. The main medical use for alfalfa in the United States was as a nutritious tea or tonic.
In China, alfalfa, or zi mu, and a closely related species tooth-bur clover, Medicago hispida or nan mu xu have been used since the sixth century. Alfalfa is a minor herb in traditional Chinese medicine. It is considered to be bitter in taste and have a neutral nature. Traditional Chinese healers use alfalfa leaves to cleanse the digestive system and to rid the bladder of stones.
The root of alfalfa is used in Chinese medicine to reduce fever, improve urine flow, and treat jaundice, kidney stones, and night blindness. Contrary to the Western belief that alfalfa will aid in weight gain, Chinese herbalists believe that extended use of alfalfa will cause weight loss.
Alfalfa contains hundreds of biologically active compounds, making it difficult to analyze and to ascribe healing properties to any particular component. In addition to the nutrients mentioned above, alfalfa contains two to three percent saponin glycosides. In test tube and animal studies, saponin glycosides have been shown to lower cholesterol, but there is no evidence that this cholesterol-lowering effect occurs in humans. In addition, saponin glycosides are known to cause red blood cells to break open (hemolysis) and to interfere with the body's utilization of vitamin E.
No modern scientific evidence exists that alfalfa increases urine output, effectively treats diabetes, aids kidney or bladder disorders, improves arthritis, reduces ulcers, or treats respiratory problems. Similarly, there is no scientific evidence that alfalfa either stimulates the appetite or promotes weight loss. There is no evidence that alfalfa has any estrogenic effect on menstruation. There is evidence, however, that although for most people alfalfa is harmless, for some people it can be dangerous to use.
Preparations
Although alfalfa is available as fresh or dried leaf, it is most often taken as a capsule of powdered alfalfa or as a tablet. When dried leaves are used, steeping one ounce of dried leaves in one pint of water for up to 20 minutes makes a tea. Two cups of this tea are drunk daily.
In traditional Chinese medicine, juice squeezed from fresh alfalfa is used to treat kidney and bladder stones. To treat fluid retention, alfalfa leaves are added to a soup along with bean curd and lard.
Precautions
Although alfalfa is harmless to most people when taken in the recommended quantities, people with the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) should not take any form of alfalfa. In a well-documented study, people with latent SLE reactivated their symptoms by using alfalfa. In another study, monkeys fed alfalfa sprouts and seeds developed new cases of SLE. People with other autoimmune diseases should stay away from alfalfa as a precautionary measure. In addition, some allergic reactions have been reported to alfalfa tablets contaminated with other substances.
Side Effects
No side effects are reported in healthy people using alfalfa in the recommended doses.
Interactions
There are no studies of the interactions of alfalfa and traditional pharmaceuticals.
Resources
Books
Chevallier, Andrew. Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
Peirce, Andrea. The American Pharmaceutical Association Practical Guide to Natural Medicines. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1999.
PDR for Herbal Medicines. Montvale, New Jersey: Medical Economics Company, 1999.
[Article by: Tish Davidson]
For more information on alfalfa, visit Britannica.com.
The cows grazed happily in the alfalfa.
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 Medicago sativa
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| Medicago sativa L. |
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Medicago sativa subsp. ambigua(Trautv.) Tutin |
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), also known as Lucerne, Purple Medic and Trefoil (from Spanish Alfalfa, ultimately Arabic: البرسيم الحجازي; al-fasfasa), is a perennial flowering plant cultivated as an important forage crop. In the UK, where it is not all that widely grown, it tends to be known as lucerne.
Alfalfa is one of the most important legumes used in agriculture. The US is the largest alfalfa producer in the world. The leading alfalfa growing states (within the U.S.A.) are California, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The upper Midwestern states account for about 50% of US production, the North eastern states 10%, and western states 40% of US production, the latter mostly under irrigation. Alfalfa is not very important in the Southeastern states. However, alfalfa has a wide range of adaptation and can be grown from very cold northern plains to high mountain valleys, from rich temperate agricultural regions to Mediterranean climates and searing hot deserts.
Alfalfa lives from three to twelve years, depending on variety and climate. It is a cool season perennial legume, growing to a height of 1 meter. It resembles clover with clusters of small purple flowers. It also has a deep root system sometimes stretching to 4.5 metres. This makes it very resilient, especially to droughts. It has a tetraploid genome.
Alfalfa is native to Iran, where it was probably domesticated during the Bronze Age to feed horses being brought from Central Asia. It came to Greece around 490 B.C. being used as a horse feed for Persian army. It was introduced from Chile to the United States around 1860. It is widely grown throughout the world as forage for cattle, and is most often harvested as hay. Alfalfa has the highest feeding value of all common hay crops, being used less frequently as pasture. Like other legumes, its root nodules contain bacteria, Sinorhizobium meliloti, with the ability to fix nitrogen, producing a high-protein feed regardless of available nitrogen in the soil.
Its wide cultivation beginning in the seventeenth century was an important advance in European agriculture. Its symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and use as animal feed greatly improved agricultural efficiency. When grown on soils where it is well-adapted, alfalfa is the highest yielding forage plant.
Alfalfa is a plant that exhibits autotoxicity, which means that it is difficult for alfalfa seed to grow in existing stands of alfalfa. Therefore, it is recommended that alfalfa fields be cleared or rotated before reseeding.
Its primary use is for dairy production, followed by beef, sheep, horses and goats, but it is sometimes used for human
consumption. Alfalfa sprouts are used as a salad ingredient in the United States, Australia and
Alfalfa can be sown in spring or fall, and does best on well-drained soils with a neutral pH of
6.8 – 7.5. Alfalfa requires a great deal of potash. Soils low in fertility should be fertilized
with manure or a chemical fertilizer, but correction of pH is particularly important. Usually a
seeding rate of 13 – 20 kg/hectare (12 – 25 lb/acre) in climatic acceptable regions and a rate of 22 kg/hectare (20 lb/acre) in
southern regions is used. A nurse crop is often used, particularly for spring plantings, to
reduce weed problems. Herbicides are sometimes used instead. A
In most climates, alfalfa is cut three to four times a year but is harvested up to 12 times per year in Arizona and Southern California. Total yields are typically around 8 tonne/hectare (4 ton/acre) but yields have been recorded up to 20 tonnes/ha (16 ton/acre). Yields vary due to region and with weather, and with stage of maturity when cut. Later cuttings improve yield but reduce nutritional content.
Alfalfa is considered an 'insectary' due to the large number of insects which are found there. Some pests such as Alfalfa weevil, aphids, and the potato leafhopper can reduce alfalfa yields dramatically, particularly with the second cutting when weather is warmest. Chemical controls are sometimes used to prevent this. Alfalfa is also susceptible to root rots including phytophora, rhizoctonia, and Texas Root Rot.
Alfalfa seed production requires pollinators to be present in the fields when in bloom.
Alfalfa pollination is somewhat problematic because the keel of the flower trips to help pollen transfer to the foraging bee, striking them in the head. Western honey bees do not like being struck in the head repeatedly, and often learn to defeat this
action by drawing
Today the alfalfa leafcutter bee is increasingly used to circumvent this problem. As a solitary but gregarious bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfalfa seed. Nesting is in individual tunnels in wooden or plastic material, supplied by the alfalfa seed growers.[1]
A smaller amount of alfalfa seed is pollinated by the alkali bee, mostly in the northwestern USA. It is cultured in special beds near the seed fields. These bees also have their own problems. They are not portable like honey bees; they take several seasons to build up, when fields are planted in new areas.[1] Honey bees are still trucked to many of the fields at bloom time.
When alfalfa is to be used as hay, it is usually cut and baled. Loose haystacks are still used in some areas, but bales are much easier to transport and are easier to keep hold of when being stored. Ideally, the hay is cut just as the field is beginning to flower. When using farm equipment rather than hand-harvesting, the process begins with a swather, which cuts the alfalfa and arranges it in windrows. In areas where drying down of the alfalfa is problematic and slow, a machine know as mower-conditioner is used to cut the hay. The mower-conditioner has either a set of rollers or flails through which the hay passes after being cut which crimps or breaks the stems in order to facilitate faster dry down of the hay. After it has dried, a tractor pulling a baler collects the hay into bales. There are three types of bales commonly used for alfalfa. Small "square" bales — actually rectangular, and typically about 40 x 45 x 100 cm (14 in x 18 in x 38 in) — are used for small animals and individual horses. The small square bales weigh between 25 – 30 kg (50 – 70 pounds) depending on moisture, and can easily be hand separated into "flakes".
Cattle ranches use large round bales, typically 1.4 to 1.8 m (4 to 6 feet) in diameter and weighing up to 500 – 1,000 kg. These bales can be placed in stable stacks, placed in large feeders for herds of horses, and unrolled on the ground for large herds of cattle. The bales can be loaded and stacked with a tractor using a spike, known as a bale spear, that pierces the center of the bale, or with a grapple (claw) on the tractor's front-end loader.
A more recent innovation is large "square" bales, roughly the same proportions as the small squares, but much larger. The bale size was set so that stacks would fit perfectly on a large flatbed truck.
When used as feed for dairy cattle it is often made into haylage by a process known as ensiling. Rather than drying it down to the level of dry hay it is chopped finely and put into silos, trenches, or bags, where the oxygen supply can be limited allowing it to ferment. This allows it to remain in a state in which the nutrient levels are closer to that of fresh forage, and is more palatable in the high performance diet of dairy cattle.
Considerable research and development has been done with this important plant. Older cultivars such as 'Vernal' have been the standard for years, but many better public and private varieties are available now, and are adapted to the needs of particular climates. Private companies release many new varieties each year in the US.
Fall Dormancy is a major characteristic of alfalfa varieties. More 'dormant' varieties have reduced growth in the fall, a response due to low temperatures and reduced day lengths. 'Non-dormant' varieties exhibit winter growth activity, and therefore are grown in long-seasoned environments such as Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California, whereas 'dormant' lines are grown in the Upper Midwest, Canada, and the Northeast. 'Non-dormant' lines are susceptible to winter-kill in cold climates, and have poorer persistence, but can be higher yielding.
Most alfalfa cultivars contain genetic material from Sickle Medick (M. falcata), a wild variety of alfalfa which naturally hybridizes with M. sativa to produce Sand Lucerne (M. sativa ssp. varia). This species may bear either the purple flowers of alfalfa or the yellow of sickle medick, and is so called for its ready growth in sandy soil.
Most of the improvements in alfalfa over the last decades have been in disease resistance, improved ability to overwinter in cold climates, and multileaf traits. Disease resistance is important because it improves the usefulness of alfalfa on poorly drained soils, and during wet years.
Multileaf alfalfa has more than three leaflets per leaf. These lines may have a higher nutritional content by weight because there is relatively more leafy matter for the same amount of stem.
Modern alfalfa varieties have probably a wider range of insect, disease, and nematode resistance than many other agricultural species. The North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference records new varieties and encourages communication between breeders.
Alfalfa is characterized as a moderately sensitive to salt levels in both the soil and irrigation water. However, lots of alfalfa is grown in the arid southwest where salinity is an emerging and developing issue.
Alfalfa, like other leguminous crops, is a known source of phytoestrogens.[2] Grazing on alfalfa has been suspected as a cause of reduced fertility in sheep.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Nederlands (Dutch)
luzerne (soort groente)
Français (French)
n. - luzerne
Deutsch (German)
n. - (bot.) Luzerne, Alfalfa
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) αλφάλφα, ήμερο τριφύλλι
Italiano (Italian)
erba medica
Português (Portuguese)
n. - alfafa (f) (Bot.)
Español (Spanish)
n. - alfalfa, mielga
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - alfalfa
中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
紫花苜蓿
中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 紫花苜蓿
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - アルファルファ, ムラサキウマゴヤシ
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) فصفصه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - אספסת (צמח), זן קטניות אמריקאי
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