Vetch Vika Pribugskaya 19

Vika Pribugskaya 19 is one of the varieties of spring vetch, an annual legume crop widely used as a forage. The plant is characterized by high yield of green mass (300–400 c/ha) and hay (up to 60–80 c/ha). Seeds contain 46 feed units and 123 g of protein per feed unit, making them a valuable protein source for livestock.

The variety grows well on neutral and slightly acidic soils with sufficient moisture. Seeds germinate at a temperature of 2–3 °C; seedlings withstand frosts down to 4–6 °C, ensuring an early start to growth in the spring period. The seeding rate is 1.2–1.8 million seeds/ha (100–150 kg/ha). Vetch is often sown in mixtures with oats (ratio 3–4:1) or with other legumes and mustard, which increases the overall productivity of the crops.

Harvesting is carried out in two phases. When harvesting seed heads into windrows with a mower at the stage of browning pods (50–75% pods), seeds are harvested at 16–18% moisture. At higher moisture, seeds are crushed, and at low moisture, they are damaged. Green mass harvesting is done at the bud-formation-flowering stage; hay and silage—at full flowering; silage—at the stage of green pods.

Vika Pribugskaya 19 differs in its good ability to utilize the after-effect of fertilizers applied to predecessors and can be sown after tillage or grain crops. The cultivation technology includes soil preparation (tillage of stubble, winter plowing), sowing at a depth of 4–6 cm (up to 8 cm in case of moisture deficiency) and observing the seeding rate depending on the type of sowing and soil conditions.