We have broken the legumes down into annuals, medium term (2-4 years) and white clover.

With the massive increase in cost of nitrogen due to the shortage of natural gas supplies, producers are looking closely at how legumes can drive down feed costs and aid long term viability of pastoral grazing systems.

ANNUAL CLOVERS

1. BERSEEM. 400,000 seeds per kg. Produces fast growing biomass & average protein 17%. Good N fixation in warm soils, above 7c. Excellent soil improver and good for companion & diversionary cropping.

2. CRIMSON. 320,000 seeds per kg. A true clover & good for winter forage. Vigorous & provides excellent forage for livestock. Soil improver. Needs to be sown in Spring and summer. Works well under brassica crops & peas.

3. PERSIAN. 800,000 seeds per kg. Fixes N and capable of rapid growth. Soil improver and ideal in cover crops and forage mixes. Not frost hardy and will die off from October.

4. SWEET CLOVER. 500,000 seeds per kg. A tall biennial plant that dies off after flowering. Aggressive with large taproot & vigorous biomass. Soil improver & green manure. Can set seed & come back -survives through winter as a taproot.

OTHER ANNUAL LEGUMES

5. VETCH (Tares) 18,000 seeds per kg. Average protein 16-20%. An annual species that is excellent for overwintering as cover crop & soil improver. Good high protein & palatability for stock. Very competitive against weeds. Annual N fixation 100-200kg N/Ha. High seed rate required 30/35kg per acre (85kg per Ha) 10-30% inclusion in whole crop mix with barley/oats & good mix with westerwolds or forage rye.

6. FORAGE PEAS (Green Peas). The growing interest in whole-cropping of peas & mixes of peas/ cereals & peas/annual clovers has widened the land types and areas where they can be safely grown in Scotland & North of England. The combination of barley/oats and peas sown at 66% peas to 34% cereals has been very successful as whole crop with low inputs of sprays and fertiliser. Alternatively on arable rotations modern green pea varieties sown appropriate seed rates (225-260kg per ha) can be undersown with crimson & red clover mixes to give additional forage after whole cropping or swathing the peas to let them wilt before Forage harvesting. Weed control is still possible pre-emergence at appropriate rates.

7. FIELD BEANS. Ideal for home grown protein and are an excellent break crop in arable rotations - particularly in a wet year where they outperform peas. The downside is the later harvest. Optimum plant population for spring beans is 50-60 plants per m2.

MEDIUM TERM (2-4 YEARS)

8. LUCERNE. 500,000 seeds per Kg. High protein forage crop - grown by itself & very good on light drought prone soils. Slow to establish in first year from spring sowings & peak production is in second and third seasons. Needs to be grown on a high pH soil and very free draining. Needs the correct strain of Rhizobia (Inoculant) to fix N & promote growth. Ideal for silage & Hay crops with average protein of 20-22%. Very drought tolerant with good deep roots. Needs cutting 2-3 times per season and needs careful handling before baling. Excellent soil improver but need to avoid too much traffic especially in wet conditions.

9. ALSIKE CLOVER. 1,500,000 seeds per kg. Winter hardy 2-3 year short-term perennial. A true clover, more palatable than red clover. Alsike fixes N and is useful for under sowing and performs very well in more acidic/wetter soil types. Only require low seed rate in mixtures (0.2-0.5kg per acre). Reduces pests & diseases in rotations where red clover has been grown.

10. RED CLOVER. 550,000 seeds per kg. Very popular in short term forage mixes for 2-4 years where silage conservation is the main priority. Persistency is improving in new strains but still the key point is sympathetic management particularly cutting heights and recovery times to let it reset. More palatable than straight grass forage and very good soil improving qualities in short term rotations with its vigorous taproot.

LONG TERM

11. WHITE CLOVER 1,550,000 Seeds per Kg. In the UK our most common and popular Legume in Grazing Mixtures. Divided into small, medium and large leaf varieties. The smaller the leaf, the more prostrate and persistent the growth. The key to its survival and productivity is its multi-branched creeping stem , called a stolon which provides sites for new leaves, roots and flowers. The stolon stores carbohydrates and proteins meaning the plant can overwinter and regenerate in the spring.