Legumes

Alfalfa Field
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.): Alfalfa is a cool season perennial legume that has high palatiability, good winter hardiness and is drought tolerant. Alfalfa is commonly used as hay, silage, pasture and a green manure crop. The legume is most commonly distributed in the Northern of the United States with an increase in popularity in the the Southeast. Alfalfa grown between 15-36 inches in height. The inflorescens consist of five to 20 florets, commonly purple but may be blue, yellow and cream. The leaves are pinnately trifolioate (three leaflets per leaf); serrations on the tip of the leaflets; stipules have teeth, lobes and share pointed tips. Same varieties have a multifoliate characteristics as seen in the following image. The roots are a long deep taproot.

Soil
Drainage:
Well Drained
Fertility:
High
pH:
6.6-7.2
Seed
Color:
Yellow to greenish-yellow, browning with age.
Shape:
Kidney
Pounds Per Bushel:
60
Seeds Per Pound:
200,000
Seeding Rate:
12-15 pounds PLS per acre
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Mar 1 to May 1 or Aug 1 to Sept 1
Emergence Time (Days):
7
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70





Alsike Clover
Alsike Clover (Trifolium hybridum L.): Alsike Clover is a cool season perennial legume that has high palatability. It has good winter hardiness and fair drought tolerance. This legume could be a bloat hazard to livestock. It is most commonly used for pasture, hay and is best suited for poorly drained sites and can be found in the Upper Midwestern United States and in the North Centeral Pacific States. Alsike Clover will reach between 12 and 36 inches in height. Th eleaves are palmately trifoliolate, they are finely serrated with large pointed stipules. The see head consiste of 17-91 florets supported by petiole from leaf axil; flower white to pink in color. This legume has a taproot.
Soil
Drainage:
Poorly Drained
Fertility:
Medium
pH:
6.0-6.5
 
 
Seed
Color:
Apple-green to greenish-black, browing with age.
Shape:
Nearly heart-shaped except notch slightly off center.
Pounds Per Bushel:
60
Seeds Per Pound:
700,000
Seeding Rate:
6-10 pounds PLS per acre.
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Jan 1-May1 or Aug1-Sept1
Emergence Time (Days):
7
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.): Birdsfoot Trefoil can be found in the Upper Midwest and Northeast of the United States. The perennial cool season legume is very palatable and offers good winter hardiness. The drought tolerance level is fair and the bloat hazard is low. This legume complements Kentucky bluegrass and with low seeding vigor: ID-139. You can find Birdsfoot Trefoil in the Upper Midwest and Northeast of the United States. This legume will grow 15-44 inches, their are five leaflets per leaf, with two of the five actually stipules. The inflorescences are umble bearing with two to nine florets that are lemon-yellow to orange. This plant has a taproot.
Soil
Drainage:
Somewhat Poorly Drained
Fertility:
Medium
pH:
6.0-6.8
 
 
Seed
Color:
Olive-brown, buff, purple mottled, and purplish black.
Shape:
Oval.
Pounds Per Bushel:
60
Seeds Per Pound:
375,000
Seeding Rate:
4-6 pounds PLS per acre.
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Mar 1-May 1 or Aug 1-Sept 1
Emergence Time (Days):
7
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70
Crownvetch
Crownvetch (Coronilla varia L.): Crownvetch is a perennial cool season legume with medium palatability. It has good winter hardiness with fair drought tolerance. There is no bloating hazard. Crownvetch is used for roadside vegetation and can be found in the Upper Midwest and Northeast United States. Corwnvetch will reach between 12 to 48 inches in height. The leaves alternated with stipules and are multifoliolate (many leaflets per leaf), approximately nine to 25 leaflets per leaf. They have umbel flowers that are varigated (mottled) white to lavendar in color. The seeds borne in a long slim cylindrically-shaped pod of thre to 12 segments. The roots are a deep taproots. It has a rhixomatous growth habit.
Soil
Drainage:
Somewhat Poorly Drained
Fertility:
Medium
pH:
6.0-6.5
 
 
Seed
Color:
Yellowish-red to reddish brown.
Shape:
Cylindrical rod.
Pounds Per Bushel:
60
Seeds Per Pound:
110,000
Seeding Rate:
10-15 pounds PLS per acre.
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Mar 1- May 1
Emergence Time (Days):
14
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70


Hairy Vetch
Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa Roth): Hairy Vetch is a winter annual legume that has medium palatability and is fair to poor in winter hardiness. It fairly drought tolerant and could be a bloating hazard. This legume could be included with small grains for forage and as a winter cover crops in southern Inidiana. Hairy Vetch does well in the Midwest and South Centeral regions of the United States. It could reach 3-7 feet in height. The leaves are pinnately multifoliolate terminating in a tendril. They have small pointed stupules and pubescent leaflets elliptical to lance shaped. The inflorescence are blue-violet in color with 20-32 florets in long racemes. They have tapreoots.

Soil
DrainageSomewhat Poorly Drained
FertilityMedium
pH5.8-6.5
   
Seed
ColorMottled-brown, black, gray.
ShapeSpherical; short hilum.
Pounds Per Bushel60
Seeds Per Pound20,000
Seeding Rate20-30 pounds PLS per acre.
Seeding Date (Indiana)Aug 1 - Oct 1
Emergence Time (Days)14
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F)70

Ladino Clover
Ladino Clover (Trifolium repens L): Ladino Clover is a perennial cool season legume that is very palatable, fairly hardi and does poorly in drought situations. It could be bloat hazardous. It is commonly used in pature situations and is low yielding. It can be found in the Eastern part of the United States and can grow 12-14 inches. The growth habiti is stolonigerous with leaves that are palmately trifoliolate. There are serrations most conspicuous midway between the tip and base of leaflet, the underside of the leaflet is shiny. The inverted V-shaped "water mark" not always evident, the upper or forward surfaces of the petiole is often grooved. The lower portion of the petiole will appear crinkled and the stipules will be small and pointed.

Soil
Drainage:
Poorly Drained
Fertility:
High
pH:
6.0-6.5
 
 
Seed
Color:
Yellow or sometimes reddish; browning with age.
Shape:
Heart
Pounds Per Bushel:
60
Seeds Per Pound:
860,000
Seeding Rate:
2-4 pounds PLS per acre.
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Jan 1-May 1 or Aug 1-Sept 1
Emergence Time (Days):
10
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70


Korean Lespedeza
Korean Lespedeza (Lespedeza stipulacea Maxim): Korean Lespedeza is a summer annual warm season legume that is highly palatable and is does fairly well in drought environments. It is also a non bloat hazard. It is used in late summer pasture or hay and must reseed itself annually to persist, it can be found in the Southeast United States. It will grow 2-34 inches in height. The leaves are pinnately trifoliolate with midrib pubescence that are pointed upward. The leaves are large paper-thin stipules, the leaflets are on a very short petiole. Florets are borne in short axillary racemes. The floret color bluish-purple and creamy-white. The roots are taproots.

Soil
Drainage:
Somewhat Poorly Drained
Fertility:
Low
pH:
5.5-6.2
 
 
Seed
Color:
Grayish-brown hull and black seed.
Shape:
With hulls--flat edged, oblong, with lace-like markings; Dehulled--oval and smooth.
Pounds Per Bushel:
40 Unhulled
Seeds Per Pound:
225,000
Seeding Rate:
25-30 pounds unhulled PLS per acre.
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Feb 1-May 1
Emergence Time (Days):
14
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70-90


Red Clover
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense L.): Red Clover is a cool season perennial that acts as a biennial and is highly palatable. It has good winter hardiness and does fairly well in drought tolerance. It could be bloat hazardous. It is an excellent pasture renovation crop but a short-term hay crop. It can be found in the Eastern and Northwest United States. It can grow 12-36 inches in height. The leaves are palmately trifoliolate with leaflets that are nonserrated. The inverted V-shaped 'water mark" is ususally present. Large stipules and stem leaves and petioles pubescent. The heads consist of up to 125 flowers, rose to purple in color with heads nested in two to three leaves. This plant has a taproot.

Soil
Drainage:
Somewhat Poorly Drained
Fertility:
Medium
pH:
6.2-6.8
 
 
Seed
Color:
Pure yellow tp purple
Shape:
Shortened mit
Pounds Per Bushel:
60
Seeds Per Pound:
275,000
Seeding Rate:
8-10 pounds PLS per acre.
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Jan 1-May 1 or Aug 1- Sept 1
Emergence Time (Days):
7
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70


Yellow and White Sweetclover
Yellow and White Sweetclover 
(Yellow: Melilotus officionalis (L.) Lam.)
(White: Melilotus alba Desr.): Yellow and White Sweetclover are cool season annual or biennial legumes. They are very good with winter hardiness and drought tolerance. They could be a bloat hazard. They are most commonly a green manure crop, forage for bees, hay, pasture and silage. Sweetclover diease can be problomatic. It can be found in the Great Plains and the Midwestern part of the United States. The yellow variety can grow 18-60 inches tall while the white variety grows 24-48 inches in height. The leaves are pinnately trifoliolates with serrated leaflets over the entire margins. The stipules are small and are not toothed. The inflorescence are long racemes, bearing 10-96 florets with a sweet odor that are white or yellow. This plant has long deep taproots.

Soil
Drainage:
Well Drained
Fertility:
Medium-High
pH:
6.8-7.2
 
 
Seed
Color:
Greenish-yellow (yellow blossom seed may be flecked with purple).
Shape:
Mitt
Pounds Per Bushel:
60
Seeds Per Pound:
260,000
Seeding Rate:
10-12 pounds PLS per acre.
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Feb 1-May 1
Emergence Time (Days):
7
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70


White Dutch Clover
White Dutch Clover (Trifolium repens L.): White Dutch Clover is a cool season perennial legume which is very palatable. It is has a high winter hardiness, but does poorly in drough situations. It could be bloat hazardous. It is only used in pastures and is extremely low yielding. It can commonly be found in the Eastern part of the United States. It can grow three to 10 inches in height. The leaves are palmately trifoliolates that have serrations midway between the tip and the base. The inverted V-shaped "water mark" is not always evident. It has small pointed stipules and leaflets smaller than Iadino clover. The flowering head consists of 20-100 florets, slightly smaller tha Iandino clover florets. The color is mostly white but could be tinged with pink.

Soil
Drainage:
Poorly Drained
Fertility:
Medium
pH:
6.0-6.5
 
 
Seed
Color:
Yellow or sometimes reddish; browing with age
Shape:
Heart
Pounds Per Bushel:
60
Seeds Per Pound:
800,000
Seeding Rate:
2-4 pounds PLS per acre
Seeding Date (Indiana):
Jan 1-May 1 or Aug 1- Sept 1
Emergence Time (Days):
10
Optimum Germ. Temp. (F):
70

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