Alfalfa — a perennial leguminous plant widely used as green fertilizer, forage, and honey-producing crop. It grows to heights of 25 to 90 centimeters and features beautiful globe-shaped inflorescences in shades of lilac, purple, or lavender. Its leaves are trifoliate and elliptical, with flowering beginning in the second half of May and continuing until autumn. The fruits are single-seeded pods containing reddish-purple seeds. Thanks to its developed root system with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, alfalfa efficiently accumulates nitrogen from the air, enriching the soil and improving its structure by loosening it and enhancing aeration and water-holding capacity.
Alfalfa is a universal forage crop containing high amounts of protein, vitamins, and minerals. It is used to prepare green feed, hay, silage, and hay meal; it is eagerly consumed by livestock and ranks second only to lucerne in nutritional value. Additionally, the plant possesses phytosanitary properties, restoring soil health, improving conditions for soil microorganisms and worms, which helps reduce plant diseases and increase yields. Average hay yield ranges from 35-40 kg per hundred-square meters, reaching 70-100 kg at high levels, with seed collection ranging from 1 to 4 kg per hundred-square meters.
Alfalfa is also valued as a honey-producing crop, flowering intensively in summer and until early autumn. Bees actively visit its flowers, ensuring a honey yield of up to 1-1.3 centners per hectare. Moreover, alfalfa has medicinal properties: it exhibits antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antiviral effects. The plant is used to treat skin conditions such as ulcers, burns, and acne, and also aids in cleansing the blood while possessing diuretic, expectorant, and sedative effects.
