First were domesticated by the Medes to feed their horses. Hey, the principle is the desert origin and right now it is cultivated in all temperatures regions of the subcontinent.

Scientific Classification of Hay

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Fabales

Family:  Fabaceae

Subfamily: Faboideae

Tribe: Trifolieae

Genus: Medicago

Species: M. Sativa

Morphology

Alfalfa is a perennial or permanent plant with straight roots and it is known as the primitive root , In parallel with the emergence of the primary root,  Hypocotyl is placed below the soil surface and with elongation in the bottom of  cotyledons cause germination and make the seed out of the soil .

Sprouts Alfalfa at this time shows particular sensitivity to too much water, water shortages, soil salinity or crusting of the soil surface .

If at this time the soil surface crust close, hay Hypocotyl arched that is below of the soil surface it cannot easily be removed from the soil if the Alfalfa split peas can be removed from the soil surface at this time germinate Alfalfa only have two cotyledon edges that the leaves seem inflated . This preliminarily simple leaves are usually heart-shaped and they don’t have similarity with original leaves of Alfalfa.

After a while, the first compound ternate leaves  of Alfalfa are emerging that gradually with continued growth and development  other citrus leaves are formed.

In addition to the Alfalfa primary straight roots, it has also lateral roots that they are come from the border cells of the of the roots of the central cylinder the factor of Alfalfa success in resistance to all adverse factors and also uses the food on the earth have a strong root system.

The height of Alfalfa is one meter and its leaves are trifoliate , they are pointed leaflets, green and oval leaves.

Alfalfa flowers are green , light purple or light blue. Alfalfa fruits such as shellfish , and fruit seeds like beans but they are smaller than beans.

Species :
• Iranian medics are as follows:
Hamadani, pitch, Yazdi, Nagorno Alfalfa, Baghdad, immigrants, Nagorno Alfalfa Khourvandeh, Herat, Afghan, Famennian
• Foreign Moapa Alfalfa – Sonora – thirty River – Skvyl – Canadian Rnjr- Masyrsa- Hardygan- torkestani.

Alfalfa Agriculture
In areas with mild winters, it is better to sowing Alfalfa early enough in autumn, The plant can be established before the cold stop it’s growing, and in areas with cold winters Alfalfa should plant in spring And its cultivation should be done soon and it must be done before the summer heat. Planting Alfalfa by seed drill is preferable than planting it by hand and the distance between rows are 140-150 cm and planting depth is consider 1-3 cm.
For the weed grass, Sauce is very dangerous and it can infect in the entire region and it can control with oil , herbicides or burning.
Alfalfa necessary water per year is approximately 1000 to 2000 mm.
Alfalfa rotation with other plants
In the rotation, Alfalfa is very useful for the pants that they will be planted after it.
For happening that it must bury when it has well performed.
If it is attacked by weeds or we are the delay in digging, it will not useful for the next plant.
Alfalfa dodder
The color of this plant is yellowish to orange. Alfalfa is the most important host. The sauce does not only make a taste of Alfalfa as a forage undesirable but it also makes it toxic in some degrees. If you do not control them from quality and quantity parts they are decrees and the life of farm come to be short. The other hosts of this sauce contain Sugar beet, Some kitchen garden vegetables, Red clover, white peas.
Gravy is usually the weeds beside that they are near fields and roads, and especially camel thorn is from this type of sauce.
Methods to combat with Alfalfa sauce
• The use of pure seed for planting alfalfa
• The use of non-polluting fertilizers sauce
• Planting alfalfa in late summer or early autumn rather than spring primary pollution of sauce undermines with the arrival of the cold season.
• High-density planting makes shadow and prevents from germination of the sauce.
• In areas where alfalfa should be planted in the spring of hot from 15-12Kylv in herbicide Detail before the emergence of alfalfa and used weeds such as sauces. In the few years, Alfalfa (from the second year onwards) you can sprayed Dental in the late winter or early spring. When you use these herbicides ground should have enough moisture to effect more on poison; so if the earth is dry you must have the farm irrigation.
• If the above precautions failed or because of the reasons they are not effective, and farm still dressing polluted spots contaminated by metal it can be abolished in the following ways: spraying a solution of 1% paraquat in the infected zone of sauce. Burning the contaminated area by a flame thrower , or similar devices. Mechanical cleansing the area from sauce, to remove parasites out of the farm.
• If the large area of the farm is contaminated by sauce it can be spray by Roundup Herbicide. The spraying should be repeated one after 10 days. In the first year of Alfalfa when it has 8 leaves.
• At the time of Alfalfa infected harvest should do before going seeds of sauce till the sauce prevents from increase the seed.
• From the second year with a delay in harvesting the Alfalfa , the shadow on the earth prevent from the grow of the sauce.
• In the time of infected and from the second arrangement, the farmer can use prsvyyt poison.

The effect of herbicides on the other Hay weeds

Review and test the effectiveness of several herbicides on weed hay has shown that the use of bent azone 3 and 2.5 liters per hectare, metribuzin 700-1000 grams per hectare has significant differences than the witness without weeding in terms of impact on weed at a statistical level. Metribuzin herbicides 1000 and 700 grams per hectare, Hallux VFP ethyl 2 liters per hectare, butyl Fluazifop 2 liters compared to the control without weeding showed significant differences in terms of impact on narrow-leaf weeds are located on one level.

Medicinal Properties
From the Iranian traditional medicine, Alfalfa is warm. The fresh Alfalfa is warm and wet and dried Alfalfa is warm and dry.
• As Alfalfa has lots of minerals so its juice is useful for the children that they are in the age of growth and they don’t have bones strong. Even today Alfalfa powder sale in the pharmacies. For preparing Alfalfa juice put300 grams of Alfalfa in one-liter water and boil them till the water decrease to half then smooth them add a little honey to them till it comes to be a syrup. For children, they can use 200 grams and for the suckling baby they can use 50 grams of this syrup in the day and they can add milk to this syrup. To increase the energy the adult people can use this syrup.
• Eat fresh Alfalfa or its bud with salad.
• alfalfa is laxative.
• Alfalfa twice as much as spinach has Iron. Therefore, it is hematopoietic and useful for those who are anemic.
• Iron is used to treat rickets disease.
• Deficiency of C vitamin is removed by eating Alfalfa.
• Vitamin C deficiency removes by eating alfalfa.
• Fresh Alfalfa in many countries such as China and Russia and America consumed a lot instead of spinach.
• You can find Alfalfa medicinal herbs in pharmacies and stores as powders, capsules, and tablets. Dosage three tablets per day.
• With all the benefits of Alfalfa, people should not indulgence in eating fresh Alfalfa because it is very flatulent and even animals that are destined to eat a lot of it may be wasted due to high gas.
• If you put boiled poultice several times in a day on the members hat they tremble they will heal.
• Brewed Alfalfa is useful for the treat of the Diarrhea.
• To soften the breasts and relieve cough drink 2-3 cups of brewed Alfalfa seeds.
• To treat tremor put Alfalfa seeds in the vinegar oil and put it under the sun for one week then smooth it and eat several spoons of it in the day and put it in the members that they have tremor.
• Alfalfa contains lots of vitamins. Crushed Alfalfa soonly treats the wound and prevent from the bleeding.

Minerals and Protein
Alfalfa is rich in A, C, E, K vitamins and also contains amylase that is an enzyme for digestion of starches.
Many enzymes are found in Alfalfa such as Amvlsyn, invertase, and Pktyaz. Alfalfa has about 20% protein, amino acids in proteins are as follow:
Lysine , arginine , histidine , adenine , phenylalanine , asparagine and cystine .
Alfalfa has phosphoric acid as well. Alfalfa also contains magnesium, iron and minor amounts of arsenic and silica , so alfalfa is very strong for humans and animals in terms of food and good nutrition.
A significant amount of A, B6, D, E, C, K vitamins and minerals
potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium are in Alfalfa.