Spring vetch is the most common moisture-loving and cold-resistant annual leguminous fodder grass in Ukraine. In terms of fodder value, it has high indicators compared to perennial legumes: 100 kg of dry mass of spring vetch corresponds to 46 fodder. unit and contains 123 g of digestible protein per feed unit.
Gives high yields of green mass up to 300-400 tons/ha, hay - 65-85 tons/ha.
Seeds should be sown in a mixture with
peas, oats, cabbage crops. They are sown in the usual row-row method to a depth of 4-6 cm. The first sprouts are visible after 7-10 days. The seed sowing rate is 100-150 kg/ha, and in mixtures the rate is 90-110 kg/ha.
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Seeds germinate at a temperature of 2-3 °C, and seedlings are resistant to frost: minus 5-6 °C and below. Vetch can grow well on slightly acidic and neutral soils. Picky about the level of moisture. When growing for green fodder, it can be sown in several seasons: in the early - in a mixture with oats, in the late - a mixture of sudanka, etc.
Harvesting for green fodder and hay begins in the period of full flowering of the crop (budding), for silage and hay - in the phase of gray
beans. It is recommended to store seeds at a humidity of no more than 15%.