Graines Sainfoins - Onobrychis viciifolia- engrais vert

Sainfoins, viciifolia onobrychis | Graines reproductibles, Graines Non Traitées

Sainfoins, viciifolia onobrychis, green fertilizer

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The cultivated sainfoin (onobrychis viciifolia), also called cultivated space or Esparcette with vesce leaves, is a Herbaceous plant of the family of Fabaceae.

It is a plant of little amended meadows which was once very cultivated as Fourrage. It is also found in wasteland and wave lands especially on limestone substrate.

It is an erected plant, with Leaves Pennées (between 6 and 14 pairs of oblong leaflets in linear).

Its root system is powerful. The plant measured from 50 to 70 CM high.

The flowers appear in the armpit in the upper leaves in long pedunculated clusters. They are pink in color marked by purple ribs.

The fruit are small pods Date.

Sainfoin is used especially in dry limestone areas. It is also resistant to cold and can serve as a preceding in shallow and difficult soils.

Sainfoin is appreciated by breeders because, unlike other species of legumes such as luzerne, it does not cause Meteorization in herbivores which consume it fresh.

More than 20 varieties are registered in the European catalog of species and varieties. Two varieties of different types are registered in the French catalog :

• Albion : Simple sainfoin, a cut but which lasts 3 years.
• Canto : Sainfoin double, with two cuts, more productive in the year but which has less sustainability.

Sainfoin can also be used as a mixture in temporary meadows in a limestone dry area. Under these conditions, the mixture Dactyle-Luzerne-Sainfoin is an excellent compromise in rusticity, productivity and fodder quality, including organic farming2.

In the cold and healthy zone, it can accompany Dactyle, Fléole, Fétuque des Prés and White clover Hollandicum3.

Sainfoin also has the interest of being rich in condensed tannins. This particularity gives it an interest in limiting the rejections of urinary nitrogen and methane in the environment4.

Contents subject to the CC-BY-SA 3.0license. Source : Article Sainfoin cultivated by Wikipedia in French (Authors)