Sweet clover ( Melilotus ) is a genus of biennial and annual plants of the subfamily of moths (Faboideae) of the legume family (Fabaceae), which naturally grows in meadows, wastelands, along roadsides in Eurasia and North Africa. Some species are grown as a universal crop.
- Family: legumes.
- Origin: Europe and Asia
- Rhizome: taproot, deeply penetrating root.
- Stem: straight, branched.
- Leaves: petiolate, trifoliate.
- Fruit: bean.
- Reproductive capacity: propagated by seeds.
- Illumination: photophilous.
- Watering: drought tolerant.
- Content temperature: frost-resistant.
- Flowering time: 30-35 days in June – July.
Sweet clover annual and biennial: general information
Biennial or annual herbs up to 2.5 – 3 m high with erect or ascending branched stems and alternate complex trifoliate leaves, serrated along the edge. The root system is powerful, it penetrates deep to 2 m, the root is taproot with numerous lateral processes, it is able to extract nutrition from the lower layers of the soil.
Flowers of sweet clover moth type, small, drooping, white or yellow, collected in 40 – 120 pcs. in loose brushes of an elongated cylindrical shape. They bloom in the inflorescence, starting from the bottom, brushes do not form at the same time, as they grow in the axils of the leaves, young shoots with inflorescences appear.
Each sweet clover flower lives for 2 days, a separate brush blooms for 1-2 weeks, and in general, the flowering period lasts about a month. Up to 70 brushes with 3-5 thousand flowers are formed on one stem. The plant is cross-pollinated, but can also self-pollinate.
Sweet clover in the photo
The fruit is a one-seeded or two-seeded bean with small (weight 1000 pieces – 1.8 – 2.2 g) seeds that remain viable for up to 10 years. Seeds of sweet clover crumble easily, which is why self-seeding is possible.
The Russian name of the plant comes from the words “bottom”, the ancient name for gout, or “bottom”, in the Old Russian language meaning diseases of the lower abdomen, which clearly indicates the use of it by our ancestors for medicinal purposes. The Latin name “Melilotus” consists of two Greek words “mel” and “lotus”, translated as “honey” and “fodder grass”, which reflects the main areas of agricultural use of sweet clover grass.
Cultivated species and varieties of sweet clover
A total of 26 species are known, of which about ten grow in Russia. In culture, white and yellow sweet clover are mainly grown.
Sweet clover white or common (M. albus) , a biennial plant, in the second year of vegetation forming a stem 70-200 cm high, with alternate jagged trifoliate leaves and small white flowers collected in narrow long brushes. Forage and green manure culture, excellent honey plant.
There are varieties:
Medet.
Frost.
Steppe.
Volzhanin.
Sweet clover yellow, medicinal (M. Officinalis) , a biennial plant, similar in appearance and application to the previous one. Distinguished by yellow flowers, lanceolate leaves and smoother seed pods. In the second year, it reaches a height of 1-1.5 m.
Common varieties:
Siberian.
Omsk early.
Lazarus.
Golden.
The species described above are biennial crops, however, US breeders have developed a type of annual sweet clover, which is characterized by higher productivity and honey content. The plant reaches 2.5 m in height, blooms with white flowers 2-2.5 months after sowing and blooms for about 2 months.
Varieties of sweet clover are grown:
Kherson souvenir;
Middle Volga;
Donetsk annual;
Volga.
Sweet clover as an agricultural and medicinal crop
This plant has been universally used by man since the first millennium BC. as fodder and green manure crop, used as green fodder, harvested as hay and silage. It is distinguished by a large amount of vegetable protein, like all representatives of legumes, as well as unpretentiousness to growing conditions and the ability to quickly increase green mass. In addition, the property of sweet clover grass to enrich the soil with nitrogen, clean it from wireworms, nematodes, rot and other diseases and pests makes it indispensable as a predecessor for any crops. The valuable quality of the plant is salt tolerance, it is one of the few plants that can be grown on salt marshes.
Since ancient times, sweet clover has been considered an excellent honey plant. Its honey is white or amber in color with vanilla flavor and has a wonderful taste.
The medicinal properties of sweet clover are widely known, the use of which in medicine is due to the presence of coumarin glycoside, which acts as an anticoagulant. In addition, the herb has bactericidal, anti-allergic and soothing qualities, it is especially good for external use in the form of baths, compresses, etc. Ingestion due to the large amount of coumarins should be agreed with the attending physician.
Cultivation of sweet clover: from sowing seeds to harvesting
According to the cultivation technology, sweet clover is in many ways similar to spring cereals. In arid climates it is sown as a pure crop, and in wetter climates as a cover crop for early spring crops and millet. Soil cultivation is carried out similarly to cereals, with increased acidity, lime is added, which significantly increases the yield.
Sowing of sweet clover is carried out in a continuous ordinary way, closed up to a depth of 3 cm, while adding superphosphate. Seeds undergo pre-sowing treatment by scarification (scratching the shell), which significantly increases their germination. For livestock feed, they mow a month before frost in the first year of vegetation and 2 weeks before flowering – in the second, in both cases cutting grass at a height of 12-15 cm. Seeds are harvested in the second year from the first or second mowing.
Sweet clover can grow after any predecessors and on any, except for acidic and waterlogged soils, it has high winter hardiness and drought resistance, is resistant to diseases and pests, which makes it a popular agricultural crop all over the world.