Fodder crops are crops cultivated primarily for animal feed. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is considered the "Queen of fodder crops". It is a perennial legume with trifoliate leaves and purple flowers. Alfalfa is high in proteins, vitamins, and minerals and is the world's highest protein feed. It is predominantly grown in the United States, Argentina, and Canada. While alfalfa provides excellent nutrition, factors like saponins and phytoestrogens can potentially cause issues if not properly managed.

1. By
Mir Abrar
University of Kashmir, Srinagar ,J&k

2. FODDER CROPS are crops that are cultivated
primarily for animal feed.
By extension,
natural grasslands and pastures are included
whether they are cultivated or not.

3. Fodder
Crops
Permanent
Temporary

4. Temporary crops that are grown intensively with
multiple cuttings per year include three
Major groups of fodder:
1. Grasses, including cereals that are harvested
green;
2. Legumes, pulses that are harvested green;
3. crops that are cultivated for fodder.
4. Trees fodder. parts as fodder

5.  Permanent fodder crops relate to land used
permanently (for five years or more) for
herbaceous forage crops, either cultivated or
growing .
 May include some parts of forest land if it is
used for grazing.

6.  Scientific name: Medicago sativa
 Common name: In Arab known as alfalfa
The word alfalfa is derived from Arabic, specifically the
phrase al-fac-facah, which literally means
"Father of all foods"
because it is so rich in essential nutrients.
In Europe called as Lucerne
 Belongs to family: Leguminosae (Fabaceae)
 It is also called as : “Queen of forage crops”
WHILE
“King of fodder crops” is berseem

7. Trifoliate Flower
Field

8.  Alfalfa originated from the southwest Asia
(Iran,Afghanistan) and was one of the first forage
crops to be domesticated.
 Predominantly grown in Northern and western
United states
 Optimal growth conditions are 25°C average day-
temperatures and 600 to 1200 mm annual
rainfall.
 It grows best on deep, well-drained, sandy to
fertile loamy soils,
 pH of soil.6.5-7.5
 Deep loamy soils rich in NPK are very good for
crop.
 It tolerates short spell of drought.

9. 1. California
2. Montana
3. Idaho

10.  US as worlds largest country : 9 million
hectares
Followed by
1. Argentina : 6 mh
2. Canada : 2 mh
3. Russia : 1.8 mh
4. Italy : 1.3 mh
5. China : 1.2 mh

11. 1. Root Diseases
2. Poor Soils
3. Lack of well adopted variety

12.  Perennial forage
 Nitrogen-fixer
 Highly palatable
 Digestible and nutritious
 Probably the world’s best fodder
 Extremely drought tolerant
 Fast growing (can be cut after 30 days of 1st
cutting)
 Frost tolerant
 Susceptible to a range of pests and diseases
 Rabi fodder crop(sown in winter, October to Nov)

13.  Long softly-hairy/serrated leaves (saw tooth)
 Leafy branches
 Leaves dull
 Leaves are trifoliate,
 10-45mm long and 3-10 mm broad.
 Petiole up to 2 cm long

14.  Overview: M. sativa is a perennial herb living for
several
years.
 Stem: It has erect stems up to 60 cm tall with many
branches.
 Leaves: The leaflets are 5-20 mm long and dentate
(toothed) at the apex and sometimes at the base.
 Flowers: The flowers, which are violet to pale
 Seeds: A curved or loose spiral seed pod containing 10
to 20 seeds which are yellow to brown in colour.
Average 1,000 seed weight = 2 g

15. Ecology
 Deep well-drained soils which are neutral to slightly alkaline.
 Drought-tolerant crop.
 Crop's yield is reduced in times of water shortage.
 Optimum temperature range is 15-25°C.
Conservation
 Widespread in cultivation.
Season
Not suitable for very hot and cold climate
Hazards
 Raw alfalfa seeds and sprouts contain the amino acid
canavanine which can have a toxic effect.

16. Soil
 Deep and well drained loamy soils are best for this
crop.
it cannot be grown in soil with pH below 6.
Sowing time
 Best time of sowing is first fortnight of Oct to end
of Nov.
Seed rate
 20 kg /ha
Method of sowing
 Seeding should be done in rows 40 cm apart at a
seed rate of 15 kg per hectare.
 Because of their hard seed coat, seed should be
soaked overnight in water before seeding.

17. Spacing
25cm with solid row
Irrigation
 First irrigation should be applied about a month after
sowing.
 The subsequent irrigations may be given at an interval of
15-30 days.
 During rainy season, water should not be allowed to
stagnate.
Fertilizer
 NPK
Harvest
 First cut at 75-80 Days,
 Subsequent cut at 25-30 days
 The subsequent cuttings may be taken at intervals of 30 to
40 days.

18. Yield
 On an average, 350 quintals green fodder per
hectare per year.
Seed production
 The crop, which has not been cut for fodder,
gives best seed yield.
 No cutting should be taken later than January
from established crop if it is to be kept for seed
purposes.
 On average, 0.5 quintals seed is obtained per
hectare.

19.  There are now more than 30 varieties available.
 These varieties have a wide range of pest and
disease resistances and growth patterns.
 Two types are used
1) Dormant (growth reduced in winter due to
low temp/shorter days)
2) Non-dormant (grow through the winter,
named as Winter active)

20. Petiole
Trifoliate

21.  An erect
 2-3 ft tall
 Multi-branched perennial plant with a very deep
tap root
 Plants develop a woody crown at ground level
 Stems rising from the crown to around 1 m height.

22.  Flower blue but can purple or yellow
 Flowers are 12 – 15 mm long
 Develop in dense clusters of 20 – 30 flowers at
the tips of the branches

23. Hence this plant
tends to bring up
the minerals
from
the soil that is
not
usually available
at the surface.
Alfalfa has a deep
root that reaches
down to 4 m, but
can reach 7-9 m in
well drained soils..

24. Sowing the seeds at proper time, rate and method increases the
yield
 1. Time of sowing:
The optimum time of sowing is from 1st week , of Oct to
middle of November
However, middle of October is the best time for sowing
 2. Seed rate:
In case of broadcasting, 20-25 kg per hectare of seed
while for line sowing 12-15 kg per hectare
3. Sowing method:
Sowing can be done either by broadcast or by line
sowing.

25. The world wide production is around
500+ million tonnes in 2010

26. •With regards to the nutritional
properties and information of
Alfalfa this plant is rich in such
as A, C, B1, B6, E and K
•It is also rich in proteins,
calcium, carotene, zinc, iron
and potassium.
The sun-dried hay of alfalfa (also known as Lucerne) has been found to be a
source of vitamin D.

27.  As a high quality fodder
 meal is used for livestock and
 meal is used for Poultry
 Ornamental
 Fuel-wood
 Biogas
 Salads and Sandwich

28.  In Nitrogen Bacteria (Root nodules contains
bacteria SINORHIZOBIUM MELILOTI.
 Improve agriculture efficiency (Rich in NPK).
 Dietary supplement (high proteins)

29. 1. Poor Digestive system
2. Kidney disorders
3. Cholesterol reduction
4. Prostrate problem
5. Anti asthmatic

30. Called the "Queen of
forages"
outstanding protein
content and a well-
balanced amino acids.
Alfalfa yields
more protein per unit
area than soybean.
Alfalfa provides
higher
amounts of minerals
(mainly
calcium, but also
magnesium,
potassium, sulfur,
iron, cobalt,
manganese, and
zinc) and
vitamins (beta-
carotene) than
other fodders.
Beta-carotene, a
precursor of
vitamin A, plays a
major role
in animal
reproductive
performances and it
is also
important for vision,
growth
and skin health .

31. 1. Saponins:
Saponin content in alfalfa forage may have
adverse haemolytic effects on livestock and
reduce growth and egg-production in poultry.
However, it also gives the plant resistance to
pests

32. 2. Phytoestrogens:
Alfalfa contains phytoestrogens that are
reported to reduce conception rates in cattle and
sheep fed alfalfa prior to mating.

33.  Bloat
 Grazed or fresh alfalfa at vegetative or mid-
bud stage may cause bloat in sheep and
cattle.
 This problem may be alleviated by restricting
access to alfalfa.