Alfalfa

Alfalfa , Medicago sativa, also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. The name alfalfa is used in North America. The name lucerne is the more commonly used name in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It superficially resembles clover, with clusters of small purple flowers followed by fruits spiralled in 2 to 3 turns containing 10-20 seeds. Alfalfa is native to warmer temperate climates. It has been cultivated as livestock fodder since at least the era of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
== Ecology ==
Alfalfa is a perennial forage legume which normally lives four to eight years, but can live more than 20 years, depending on variety and climate. The plant grows to a height of up to 1 m (3 ft), and has a deep root system, sometimes stretching more than 15 m (49 ft). This makes it very resilient, especially to droughts. It has a tetraploid genome.
Alfalfa is a small-seeded crop, and has a slowly growing seedling, but after several months of establishment, forms a tough "crown" at the top of the root system. This crown contains many shoot buds that enables alfalfa to regrow many times after being grazed or harvested.
This plant exhibits autotoxicity, which means it is difficult for alfalfa seed to grow in existing stands of alfalfa. Therefore, alfalfa fields are recommended to be rotated with other species (for example, corn or wheat) before reseeding.
== Culture ==
Alfalfa is widely grown throughout the world as forage for cattle, and is most often harvested as hay, but can also be made into silage, grazed, or fed as greenchop. Alfalfa usually has the highest feeding value of all common hay crops. It is used less frequently as pasture. When grown on soils where it is well-adapted, alfalfa is often the highest-yielding forage plant, but its primary benefit is the combination of high yield per hectare and high nutritional quality.
Its primary use is as feed for high-producing dairy cows, because of its high protein content and highly digestible fiber, and secondarily for beef cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. Alfalfa hay is the most widely used fibre source in rabbit diets. In poultry diets, dehydrated alfalfa and alfalfa leaf concentrates are used for pigmenting eggs and meat, due to their high content in carotenoids, which are efficient for colouring egg yolk and body lipids. Humans also eat alfalfa sprouts in salads and sandwiches. Dehydrated alfalfa leaf is commercially available as a dietary supplement in several forms, such as tablets, powders and tea. Fresh alfalfa can cause bloating in livestock, so care must be taken with livestock grazing on alfalfa because of this hazard.Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa). Plantdex.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
Like other legumes, its root nodules contain bacteria, Sinorhizobium meliloti, with the ability to fix nitrogen, producing a high-protein feed regardless of available nitrogen in the soil. Its nitrogen-fixing ability (which increases soil nitrogen) and its use as an animal feed greatly improve agricultural efficiency.
Alfalfa can be sown in spring or fall, and does best on well-drained soils with a neutral pH of 6.8 – 7.5.http://forageresearch.tamu.edu/1985/CloverEstablishmentGrowth.pdf Alfalfa requires sustained levels of potassium and phosphorus to grow well. It is moderately sensitive to salt levels in both the soil and irrigation water, although it continues to be grown in the arid southwestern United States, where salinity is an emerging issue.G4555 Managing Manure on Alfalfa Hay | University of Missouri Extension. Extension.missouri.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Soils low in fertility should be fertilized with manure or a chemical fertilizer, but correction of pH is particularly important.Fertilizing Alfalfa in Minnesota. Extension.umn.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Usually a seeding rate of 13 – 20 kg/hectare (12 – 25 lb/acre) is recommended, with differences based upon region, soil type, and seeding method.Alfalfa seeding rates: how much is too much?. Uwex.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. A nurse crop is sometimes used, particularly for spring plantings, to reduce weed problems and soil erosion, but can lead to competition for light, water, and nutrients.MT200504.indd. (PDF) . Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
In most climates, alfalfa is cut three to four times a year, but it can be harvested up to 12 times per year in Arizona and southern California.Alfalfa Cutting Height. Uwex.edu (9 April 1999). Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Total yields are typically around eight tonnes per hectare (four short tons per acre) in temperate environments, but yields have been recorded up to 20 t/ha (16 ts per acre). Yields vary with region, weather, and the crop's stage of maturity when cut. Later cuttings improve yield, but with reduced nutritional content.Alfalfa: The High-Quality Hay for Horses. (PDF) . Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
==Beneficial insects==
thumbnail|right|Alfalfa leafcutter bee, Megachile rotundata, a pollinator on alfalfa flower
Alfalfa is considered an insectary, a place where insects are reared, and has been proposed as helpful to other crops, such as cotton, if the two are interplanted, because the alfalfa harbours predatory and parasitic insects that would protect the other crop. Harvesting the alfalfa by mowing the entire crop area destroys the insect population, but this can be avoided by mowing in strips so that part of the growth remains.
==Pests and diseases==
Like most plants, alfalfa can be attacked by various pests and pathogens. Diseases often have subtle symptoms which are easily misdiagnosed and can affect leaves, roots, and stems.
Some pests, such as the alfalfa weevil, aphids, armyworms, and the potato leafhopper, can reduce alfalfa yields dramatically, particularly with the second cutting when weather is warmest.Insect Pest Management on Alfalfa, FC-ENT-0031-00. Ohioline.osu.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Chemical controls are sometimes used to prevent this. Alfalfa is also susceptible to root rots, including Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia, and Texas root rot.Phytophthora Root Rot of Alfalfa Key words: Plant Disease, Lucerne, black medic, birdsfoot trefoil, Phytophthora megasperma F. sp. medicaginis. Nu-distance.unl.edu (26 February 1997). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.Rhizoctonia Root, Stem, and Crown Rot of Alfalfa AC-42-96. Ohioline.osu.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
== Harvesting ==
When alfalfa is to be used as hay, it is usually cut and baled. Loose haystacks are still used in some areas, but bales are easier for use in transportation, storage, and feed.G4570 Reducing Losses when Feeding Hay to Beef Cattle | University of Missouri Extension. Extension.missouri.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Ideally, the first cutting should be taken at the bud stage, and the subsequent cuttings just as the field is beginning to flower, or one-tenth bloom because carbohydrates are at their highest.Alfalfa Management Guide—Harvest (3 of 3). (PDF) . Retrieved on 17 October 2011. When using farm equipment rather than hand-harvesting, a swather cuts the alfalfa and arranges it in windrows.Hay harvesting by Self-Propelled Swather compared with mowing and raking. (PDF) . Retrieved on 17 October 2011. In areas where the alfalfa does not immediately dry out on its own, a machine known as a mower-conditioner is used to cut the hay. The mower-conditioner has a set of rollers or flails that crimp and break the stems as they pass through the mower, making the alfalfa dry faster.hay mower-conditioner (agriculture) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Britannica.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. After the alfalfa has dried, a tractor pulling a baler collects the hay into bales.
Several types of bales are commonly used for alfalfa. For small animals and individual horses, the alfalfa is baled into small, two-string bales, commonly named by the strands of string used to wrap it. Other bale sizes are three-string, and so on up to half-ton (six-string) "square" bales – actually rectangular, and typically about 40 x 45 x 100 cm (14 x 18 x 38 in). Small square bales weigh from 25–30 kg (50–70 lb) depending on moisture, and can be easily hand separated into "flakes". Cattle ranches use large round bales, typically 1.4 to 1.8 m (4 to 6 ft) in diameter and weighing from 500 to 1,000 kg, (1000 to 2000 lbs). These bales can be placed in stable stacks or in large feeders for herds of horses, or unrolled on the ground for large herds of cattle. The bales can be loaded and stacked with a tractor using a spike, known as a bale spear, that pierces the center of the bale,Washburn Company Auger, Hay bale spear & attachments, Grain Equipment, Fence Line Mower or they can be handled with a grapple (claw) on the tractor's front-end loader. A more recent innovation is large "square" bales, roughly the same proportions as the small squares, but much larger. The bale size was set so stacks would fit perfectly on a large flatbed truck. These are more common in the western United States.
When used as feed for dairy cattle, alfalfa is often made into haylage by a process known as ensiling. Rather than drying it to make dry hay, the alfalfa is chopped finely and fermented in silos, trenches, or bags, where the oxygen supply can be limited to promote fermentation.http://ucanr.org/alf_symp/1995/95-55.pdf The anaerobic fermentation of alfalfa allows it to retain high nutrient levels similar to those of fresh forage, and is also more palatable to dairy cattle than dry hay. In many cases, alfalfa silage is inoculated with different strains of microorganisms to improve the fermentation quality and aerobic stability of the silage.
== Worldwide production ==
Alfalfa is the most cultivated forage legume in the world. Worldwide production was around 436 million tons in 2006.FAO, 2006. FAOSTAT-Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Faostat.fao.org. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. In 2009, alfalfa was grown on approximately worldwide; of this North America produced 41% (), Europe produced 25% (), South America produced 23% (), Asia produced 8% (), and Africa and Oceania produced the remainder. The US was the largest alfalfa producer in the world by area in 2009, with , but considerable production area is found in Argentina (), Canada (), Russia (), Italy (), and China ().
===United States===
In the United States in 2012, the leading alfalfa-growing states were California, Idaho, and Montana. Alfalfa is predominantly grown in the northern and western United States; it can be grown in the southeastern United States, but leaf and root diseases, poor soils, and a lack of well-adapted varieties are often limitations.
== Alfalfa and bees ==
Alfalfa seed production requires the presence of pollinators when the fields of alfalfa are in bloom. Alfalfa pollination is somewhat problematic, however, because western honey bees, the most commonly used pollinator, are not suitable for this purpose; the pollen-carrying keel of the alfalfa flower trips and strikes pollinating bees on the head, which helps transfer the pollen to the foraging bee. Western honey bees, however, do not like being struck in the head repeatedly and learn to defeat this action by drawing nectar from the side of the flower. The bees thus collect the nectar, but carry no pollen, so do not pollinate the next flower they visit. Because older, experienced bees do not pollinate alfalfa well, most pollination is accomplished by young bees that have not yet learned the trick of robbing the flower without tripping the head-knocking keel. When western honey bees are used to pollinate alfalfa, the beekeeper stocks the field at a very high rate to maximize the number of young bees.
Western honey bee colonies may suffer protein stress when working alfalfa only, due to shortage of one of the amino acids comprising the pollen protein, isoleucine.
Today, the alfalfa leafcutter bee is increasingly used to circumvent these problems.Alfalfa Leafcutter Bee in California. Pollination.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. As a solitary but gregarious bee species, it does not build colonies or store honey, but is a very efficient pollinator of alfalfa flowers. Nesting is in individual tunnels in wooden or plastic material, supplied by the alfalfa seed growers. The leafcutter bees are used in the Pacific Northwest, while western honeybees dominate in California alfalfa seed production.
A smaller amount of alfalfa produced for seed is pollinated by the alkali bee, mostly in the northwestern United States. It is cultured in special beds near the fields. These bees also have their own problems. They are not portable like honey bees, and when fields are planted in new areas, the bees take several seasons to build up. Honey bees are still trucked to many of the fields at bloom time.
== Varieties ==
Considerable research and development has been done with this important plant. Older cultivars such as 'Vernal' have been the standard for years, but many better public and private varieties better adapted to particular climates are available.Alfalfa Variety Characteristics, AGF-014-92. Ohioline.osu.edu. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. Private companies release many new varieties each year in the US.
Most varieties go dormant in the fall, with reduced growth in response to low temperatures and shorter days. 'Nondormant' varieties that grow through the winter are planted in long-seasoned environments such as Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California, whereas 'dormant' varieties are planted in the Upper Midwest, Canada, and the Northeast. 'Nondormant' varieties can be higher-yielding, but they are susceptible to winter-kill in cold climates and have poorer persistence.
Most alfalfa cultivars contain genetic material from sickle medick (M. falcata), a crop wild relative of alfalfa that naturally hybridizes with M. sativa to produce sand lucerne (M. sativa ssp. varia). This species may bear either the purple flowers of alfalfa or the yellow of sickle medick, and is so called for its ready growth in sandy soil.Joseph Elwyn Wing, Alfalfa Farming in the U.S. 79 (Sanders Publishing Co. 1912)". Traits for insect resistance have also been introduced from M. glomerata and M. prostrata, members of alfalfa's secondary gene pool.Vincent HA, Wiersema J, Dobbie SL, Kell SP, Fielder H, Castañeda Alvarez NP, Guarino L, Eastwood R, Leόn B, Maxted N. 2012. A prioritised crop wild relative inventory to help underpin global food security. (in preparation).
thumb|right|Watering an alfalfa field
Most of the improvements in alfalfa over the last decades have consisted of better disease resistance on poorly drained soils in wet years, better ability to overwinter in cold climates, and the production of more leaves. Multileaf alfalfa varieties have more than three leaflets per leaf, giving them greater nutritional content by weight because there is more leafy matter for the same amount of stem.
The L. Teweles Seed Company claimed it created the world's first hybrid alfalfa.
Wisconsin and California and many other states publish alfalfa variety trial data. A complete listing of state variety testing data is provided by the North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference (NAAIC) State Listing, as well as additional detailed alfalfa genetic and variety data published by NAAIC.
=== Genetically modified alfalfa ===
Roundup Ready alfalfa, a genetically modified variety was released by Forage Genetics International in 2005. This was developed through the insertion of a gene owned by Monsanto Company that confers resistance to glyphosate, a broad-spectrum herbicide, also known as Roundup. Although most grassy and broadleaf plants, including ordinary alfalfa, are killed by Roundup, growers can spray fields of Roundup Ready alfalfa with the glyphosate herbicide and kill the weeds without harming the alfalfa crop.
==== Legal issues with Roundup Ready alfalfa in the US ====
In 2005, after completing a 28-page environmental assessment (EA)USDA/APHIS Environmental Assessment
United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, October 2004. Retrieved 13 November 2011 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted Roundup Ready alfalfa (RRA) nonregulated statusMonsanto Co. and Forage Genetics International; Availability Determination of Nonregulated Status for Alfalfa Genetically Engineered for Tolerance to the Herbicide Glyphosate Federal Register, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 27 June 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2011 under Code of Federal Regulations Title 7 Part 340,Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7: Agriculture PART 340—INTRODUCTION OF ORGANISMS AND PRODUCTS ALTERED OR PRODUCED THROUGH GENETIC ENGINEERING WHICH ARE PLANT PESTS OR WHICH THERE IS REASON TO BELIEVE ARE PLANT PESTS called, "Introduction of Organisms and Products Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering Which Are Plant Pests or Which There Is Reason to Believe Are Plant Pests", which regulates, among other things, the introduction (importation, interstate movement, or release into the environment) of organisms and products altered or produced through genetic engineering that are plant pests or that there is reason to believe are plant pests. Monsanto had to seek deregulation to conduct field trials of RRA, because the RRA contains a promoter sequence derived from the plant pathogen figwort mosaic virus. The USDA granted the application for deregulation, stating that the RRA with its modifications: "(1) Exhibit no plant pathogenic properties; (2) are no more likely to become weedy than the nontransgenic parental line or other cultivated alfalfa; (3) are unlikely to increase the weediness potential of any other cultivated or wild species with which it can interbreed; (4) will not cause damage to raw or processed agricultural commodities; (5) will not harm threatened or endangered species or organisms that are beneficial to agriculture; and (6) should not reduce the ability to control pests and weeds in alfalfa or other crops." Monsanto started selling RRA and within two years, more than 300,000 acres were devoted to the plant in the US.Steve Orloff and Dan Putnam
Roundup Ready Alfalfa—What Have We Learned to Date? Proceedings, 2011 Western Alfalfa & Forage Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 11–13 December 2011
The granting of deregulation was opposed by many groups, including growers of non-GM alfalfa who were concerned about gene flow into their crops. In 2006, the Center for Food Safety, a US non-governmental organization that is a critic of biotech crops, and others, challenged this deregulation in the California Northern District CourtMonsanto et al v Geertson Seed Farms et al, Supreme Court of the United States, Decision no 09-475, 21 June 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2011 Organic growers were concerned that the GM alfalfa could cross-pollinate with their organic alfalfa, making their crops unsalable in countries that ban the growing of GM crops.Supreme Court on Modified Foods: Who Won?, by Barry Estabrook, 'The Atlantic'. 22 June 2010 . Retrieved 22 June 2010. The District Court ruled that the USDA's EA did not address two issues concerning RRA's effect on the environmentThese two issues were:
1) evaluation of the risk that complete deregulation of RRA would lead to cross-pollination or the transmission of the gene conferring glyphosate tolerance from RRA to conventional alfalfa
2) evaluation of the risk that growing RRA might lead to the development of Roundup-resistant weeds. and in 2007, required the USDA to complete a much more extensive environmental impact statement (EIS). Until the EIS was completed, they banned further planting of RRA but allowed land already planted to continue.Memorandum and Order Re: Permanent Injunction United States District Court for Northern California, Case No C 06-01075 CR, 3 May 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2011 The USDA proposed a partial deregulation of RRA but this was also rejected by the District Court. Planting of RRA was halted.
In June 2009, a divided three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court's decision. Monsanto and others appealed to the US Supreme Court.Supreme Court Lifts Ban on Planting GM Alfalfa by Jennifer Koons, NYT, 21 June 2010 (Retrieved 21 June 2010)
On 21 June 2010, in Monsanto Co. v. Geertson Seed Farms, the Supreme Court overturned the District Court decision to ban planting RRA nationwide as there was no evidence of irreparable injury.Monsanto Company v. Geertson Seed Farms at ScotusWiki – Briefs and Documents, etc. They ruled that the USDA could partially deregulate RRA before an EIS was completed. The Supreme Court did not consider the District Court's ruling disallowing RRA's deregulation and consequently RRA was still a regulated crop waiting for USDA's completion of an EIS.
This decision was welcomed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, Biotechnology Industry Organization, American Seed Trade Association, American Soybean Association, National Alfalfa and Forage Alliance, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Cotton Council, and National Potato Council.Staff (22 June 2010) Ag Groups Applaud Supreme Court Ruling On Biotech Alfalfa Medical News Today, Retrieved 1 November 2012 In July 2010, 75 members of Congress from both political parties sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking him to immediately allow limited planting of genetically engineered alfalfa.Staff (2010) Supreme Court rules in favor of RR alfalfa Seed World, Retrieved 1 November 2012Letter by 75 Members of Congress to Vilsack Retrieved 1 November 2012 However the USDA did not issue interim deregulatory measures, instead focusing on completing the EIS. Their 2,300-page EIS was published in December 2010.Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa Events J101 and J163: Request for Nonregulated Status Final Environmental Impact Statement, United States Department of Agriculture, December 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2011 It concluded that RRA would not affect the environment.
Three of the biggest natural food brands in the USA lobbied for a partial deregulation of RRA,Staff (24 February 2011) Deregulation of genetically modified alfalfa stirs debate about 'coexistence' Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Inc., Retrieved 1 November 2011 but in January 2011, despite protests from organic groups, Secretary Vilsack announced that the USDA had approved the unrestricted planting of genetically modified alfalfa and planting resumed.USDA - Roundup Ready® Alfalfa Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), United States Department of Agriculture, December 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2011Gilla, Carey and Doering, Christopher UPDATE 3-U.S. farmers get approval to plant GMO alfalfa Reuters US Edition, 27 January 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2011Vilsack's USDA Officially Approves Controversial Genetifically Modified Alfalfa. Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 8 February 2011. Secretary Vilsack commented, "After conducting a thorough and transparent examination of alfalfa ... APHIS [Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service] has determined that Roundup Ready alfalfa is as safe as traditionally bred alfalfa."USDA News Release No. 0035.11, 27 January 2011. USDA Announces Decision to Fully Deregulate Roundup Ready Alfalfa About 20 million acres (8 million hectares) of alfalfa were grown in the US, the fourth-biggest crop by acreage, of which about 1% were organic. Some biotechnology officials forecast that half of the US alfalfa acreage could eventually be planted with GM alfalfa.
The National Corn Growers Association,Staff (20 January 2011) National Corn Growers Assn. supports deregulation of Roundup Ready alfalfa The Minnesota Farm Guide, Retrieved 1 November 2012 the American Farm Bureau Federation,Tannen, Benjamin (14 March 2011) USDA Fully Deregulates Genetically Modified Alfalfa University of Pennsylvania Law School, RegBlog News, Retrieved 1 November 2012 and the Council for Biotech InformationStaff (27 January 2011) BIO Applauds USDA Decision to Deregulate Biotech Alfalfa Biotech Now, Retrieved 1 November 2012 warmly applauded this decision. Christine Bushway, CEO of the Organic Trade Association said, "A lot of people are shell-shocked. While we feel Secretary Vilsack worked on this issue, which is progress, this decision puts our organic farmers at risk."Tomson, Bill and Kilman, Scott USDA Won't Impose Restrictions on Biotech Alfalfa Crop Wall Street Journal, 27 January 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2011 The Organic Trade Association issued a press release in 2011 saying that the USDA recognized the impact that cross-contamination could have on organic alfalfa and urged them to place restrictions to minimize any such contamination.Organic Trade Association's Organic Newsroom: Organic industry wants farmers protected in the marketplace. Organicnewsroom.com (20 January 2011). Retrieved on 8 February 2011. However, organic farming groups, organic food outlets, and activists responded by publishing an open letter saying that planting the "alfalfa without any restrictions flies in the face of the interests of conventional and organic farmers, preservation of the environment, and consumer choice." Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee,Staff (January 2011) Senate Ag's Stabenow, House Ag's Lucas welcome biotech alfalfa deregulation Agri-Pulse Communications Inc., Retrieved 1 November 2012 House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas and Senator Richard Lugar Harsch, John H. (27 January 2011) Sen. Lugar strongly supports GE alfalfa deregulation, to avoid 'government control' Agri-Pulse Communications Inc., Retrieved 1 November 2012 issued statements strongly supporting the decision "...giving growers the green light to begin planting an abundant, affordable and safe crop" and giving farmers and consumers the choice ... in planting or purchasing food grown with GM technology, conventionally, or organically." In a Joint Statement, US Senator Patrick Leahy and Representative Peter DeFazio said the USDA had the "opportunity to address the concerns of all farmers", but instead "surrender[ed] to business as usual for the biotech industry."Press Release, Sem Patrick Leahy website. 27 January 2011 USDA’s Decision Thursday On Genetically Engineered Alfalfa – Leahy And DeFazio Warn About USDA Decision Lifting All Protections For Organic And Conventional Farmers
The Center for Food Safety appealed this decision in March 2011Maria Rodale: We Stand in Opposition to GE Alfalfa. Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 8 February 2011.Complaint for Declatory and Injunctive Relief United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Case No CV11 1310, 18 March 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2011 but the District Court for Northern California rejected this motion in 2012.Staff (12 May 2012) Challenge to Genetically Engineered Alfalfa Rejected 31 Biotechnology Law Report 151, Number 2 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012
== History ==
Alfalfa seems to have originated in south-central Asia, and was first cultivated in ancient Iran. According to Pliny (died 79 AD), it was introduced to Greece in about 490 BC when the Persians invaded Greek territory. Alfalfa cultivation is discussed in the fourth century AD book Opus Agriculturae by Palladius, stating: "One sow-down lasts ten years. The crop may be cut four or six times a year ... A jugerum of it is abundantly sufficient for three horses all the year ... It may be given to cattle, but new provender is at first to be administered very sparingly, because it bloats up the cattle." Links to online copies are listed at the foot of the Wikipedia article Rutilius Taurus Aemilianus Palladius. Pliny and Palladius called alfalfa in Latin medica, a name that referred to the Medes, a people who lived in ancient Iran. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed, probably correctly, that alfalfa came from the Medes' land, in today's Iran. (The ancient Greeks and Romans also used the name medica to mean a citron fruit, once again because it was believed to have come from the Medes' land). This name is the root of the modern scientific name for the alfalfa genus, Medicago. Despite the report in Opus Agriculturae and in some other Roman and ancient Greek writers, there is little evidence that alfalfa was in widespread use in the Mediterranean region in those days.
The medieval Arabic agricultural writer Ibn al-'Awwam, who lived in Spain in the later 12th century, discussed how to cultivate alfalfa, which he called (). Links to online copies in French, Spanish, and Arabic are listed at the foot of the Wikipedia article Ibn al-'Awwam. A 13th-century general-purpose Arabic dictionary, Lisān al-'Arab, says that alfalfa is cultivated as an animal feed and consumed in both fresh and dried forms.Lisān al-'Arab is online at Baheth.info. Search for فصفصة in the dictionary. (The dictionary is also downloadable at Archive.org but that version doesn't have searchable text). It is from the Arabic that the Spanish name alfalfa was derived. 
In the 16th century, Spanish colonizers introduced alfalfa to the Americas as fodder for their horses. They were aware that alfalfa is better than grass as food for working horses (horses had more energy).
Alfalfa seeds were imported to California from Chile in the 1850s. That was the beginning a rapid and extensive introduction of the crop over the western US States and introduced the word "alfalfa" to the English language. In the North American colonies of the eastern US in the 18th century, it was called "lucerne", and many trials at growing it were made, but generally without sufficiently successful results. Relatively little alfalfa is grown in the southeastern United States today. Lucerne (or luzerne) is the name for alfalfa in Britain, Australia, France, Germany, and a number of other countries. Since North and South America now produce a large part of the world's output, the word "alfalfa" has been slowly entering other languages.
== Phytoestrogens in alfalfa ==
Alfalfa, like other leguminous crops, is a known source of phytoestrogens, including spinasterol, coumestrol, and coumestan. Because of this, grazing on alfalfa has caused reduced fertility in sheep and in dairy cattle.
== Toxicity of canavanine ==
Raw alfalfa seeds and sprouts are a source of the amino acid canavanine. Much of the canavanine is converted into other amino acids during germination so sprouts contain much less canavanine than unsprouted seeds.http://books.google.com.au/books?id=ebW4QzlolAUC&pg=PA45&lpg=PA45&dq=alfalfa+sprouts+seeds+canavanine&source=bl&ots=YyuP5l5Tpy&sig=xP85hUaUfSepoSF_Hgu_shu9R7E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=C0UnVNS4A8SE8gXm34KwDw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=alfalfa%20sprouts%20seeds%20canavanine&f=false Canavanine competes with arginine, resulting in the synthesis of dysfunctional proteins. Raw unsprouted alfalfa has toxic effects in primates, including humans, which can result in lupus-like symptoms and other immunological diseases in susceptible individuals, and sprouts also produced these symptoms in at least some primates when fed a diet made of 40% alfalfa. Stopping consumption of alfalfa seeds can reverse the effects.http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/60/4/639.full.pdf
== Nutritional value ==
Alfalfa is high in protein, calcium and other minerals, vitamins in the B group, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K.Nutrition Research Center, Alfalfa Nutritional Value. Nutritionresearchcenter.org (21 March 2008). Retrieved on 17 October 2011.The Facts About Alfalfa, Melissa Kaplans' Herb Care. Anapsid.org. Retrieved on 17 October 2011. The sun-dried hay of alfalfa has been found to be a source of vitamin D, containing 48 ng/g (1920 IU/kg) vitamin D2 and 0.63 ng/g (25 IU/kg) vitamin D3. There is reference to vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 being found in the alfalfa shoot; this is awaiting verification.Chemical Information
=== Sprouting ===
Sprouting alfalfa seeds is the process of germinating seeds for consumption usually involving just water and a jar. However, the seeds and sprouts must be rinsed regularly to avoid the accumulation of the products of decay organisms along with smells of rot and discoloration. Sprouting alfalfa usually takes three to four days with one tablespoon of seed yielding up to three full cups of sprouts.
==Health effects==
The United States National Institutes of Health reports there is insufficient evidence to evaluate the medicinal value of alfalfa.
== Gallery ==
== References ==
== External links ==
* Grassland Species profile
* National Alfalfa Alliance
*