Alfalfa is a perennial flowering plant, among which the well-known varieties are Alfalfa and Alfalfa. At the same time, alfalfa is the world's best forage, and its generalized grass products mainly include: hay bales, grass particles, grass blocks, grass powder, silage, leaf protein, sprouts, seedlings, alfalfa tea, extracted substances. Because alfalfa has the characteristics of high yield, strong tolerance, good palatability and excellent quality, it is known as the "king of pasture", not only that, alfalfa is rich in nutrients, and the tender alfalfa sprouts can be eaten as vegetables.
lucerne
Alfalfa is now the world's largest leguminous pasture, cultivated or semi-wild alfalfa grass throughout the mainland, commonly found in fields, roadsides, wilderness, grasslands, river banks and ravines. According to ancient records, the cultivation of alfalfa in the mainland began in the Han Dynasty, that is, in 126 BC (the third year of Yuan Shuo), and the Han envoys sent by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions brought in the seeds of alfalfa, and as of now, alfalfa has been cultivated in the mainland for more than 2,000 years.
1// Alfalfa "Introduction" note
According to the "Chronicle of the Chronicle of dawan", "Wan's left and right use putao as wine, and the rich people hide wine to more than 10,000 stones, and those who have been undefeated for a long time are dozens of years old." Vulgar liquor, horses are addicted to alfalfa. Han makes the actual take. So the Son of Heaven began to plant alfalfa and puddle pottery to fertilize the land. ”
To the effect: the countries around Dawan (that is, the name of the country located in the central Asian countries during the Han Dynasty in China) all used putao (that is, grapes) to make wine, and the rich people's wine collection reached more than 10,000 stones, which was not bad for decades. The local custom is that people are particularly fond of drinking, and horses are particularly fond of eating alfalfa grass. Envoys of the Han Dynasty retrieved the seeds of pu tao and alfalfa. So Tianzi began to grow grapes and alfalfa on the fertile land.
It is easy to understand that the rich and lush grapes of Dawan were brought back to the Han Dynasty, but as forage for horses, why were alfalfa seeds brought back by the Han envoys? There's another story. According to the "Book of Han and The Biography of the Western Regions", "There are more than seventy cities in Wanbeiyi, and many good horses." Horse sweat blood, said its innate horse also. Zhang Qian began to say for Emperor Wu that he sent emissaries to hold thousands of gold and golden horses to invite Wanshan horses... King Wan's cicada seal and Han Covenant, and two horses of heaven and horse sacrifice. Han envoys pick pu pottery and return to the land. The Son of Heaven, with Heavenly Horses, and foreign envoys, planted putao and stayed next to the palace, and looked forward to it. ”
At that time, there were about seventy cities and pools in the kingdom of Dawan, and there were many BMWs. The horse's sweat is blood-colored, and legend has it that the ancestor of this horse was the son of Pegasus. The text says that the Han Dynasty envoy Zhang Qian only reported the situation of Dawan to Emperor Wu of Han on his front foot, and Emperor Wu of Han immediately sent emissaries with thousands of gold and golden horses to Dawan to request blood and blood. However, King Wan, believing that the Han Dynasty was so far away from him, that the Han Dynasty soldiers could not reach the Wan Kingdom, refused to give his beloved BMW to the Han Dynasty.
The envoys of the Han Dynasty insulted King Wan, and Dawan killed the Han envoys and seized the finances of Qianjin and Golden Horses. Emperor Wu of Han used this as an excuse to send the general Li Guangzhi to attack Dawan with more than 100,000 troops and attacked for four consecutive years. It was not until the Dawan people beheaded the head of the Wanwang widow and sacrificed 3,000 HORSES that the Han army withdrew. This story about the sweat and blood BMW is recorded in the "Biography of Zhang Qian".
The general of the Second Division beheaded The Queen of Wan, and established another Han-friendly Cai of the Wan nobles as the King of Wan. However, only a year later, the Wan nobles believed that The Han Dynasty had killed Dawan, so they conspired to murder and kill the MingCai, and set up another widowed brother Cicada as king, sent the prince to Chang'an as a proton, and the Han Dynasty also sent emissaries to reward the King of Wan, etc., and appeased him.
Statue of Emperor Wu of Han
Subsequently, the Han Dynasty sent more than a dozen groups of emissaries to the countries west of Dawan to search for rare treasures and treasures, and to show off the military might of the crusade against Dawan. King Cicada Feng of Wan met with the Han Dynasty and presented two sweat and blood horses to the Han Dynasty every year. Since sweat and blood BMW likes to eat alfalfa, the Han envoy collected some alfalfa seeds and brought them back to Chang'an. Because the emperor had many heavenly horses and many foreign envoys, he expanded the cultivation of grapes and alfalfa next to the palace annex, and could not see the edge at a glance.
According to this, Alfalfa grass came to the mainland with sweat and blood BMW. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the original advocate of growing alfalfa in the Western Han Dynasty, and was the first person on the mainland to "plant" alfalfa. At the beginning of the Central Plains, most of the sweat and blood horses were raised in the Han court for ceremonies and rides by princes and nobles. After the introduction of riding and shooting, horses have become a very important tool, so there is a sentence of "alfalfa follows the pegasus, and the grapes chase the Hanchen".
Jiang Menglin, a famous educator in modern and modern China, pointed out that "Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty planted alfalfa in thousands of acres of land outside the palace. Pegasus refers to horses from the western region, which was called Tianfang in ancient Arabia, and horses from that side were called Pegasus. As long as alfalfa is used to raise, so the horses must be introduced, and at the same time the alfalfa must be introduced. "This fact undoubtedly had a decisive influence on the cultivation of alfalfa, which was originally introduced to the Central Plains as a sweat horse forage.
2// Alfalfa "takes root" in China
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, after the Han envoys introduced alfalfa seeds from the western regions, they began to try seeds in the palace courtyards of the capital and then promoted them in Ningxia and Gansu. Yan Shigu also said in his commentary on the Book of Han and the Biography of the Western Regions: "In the old stable and northern prefectures of present-day Northern Province ( the two counties are adjacent , then the two counties are adjacent to each other , then the two banks of the Yellow River in present-day Ningxia and the southwest to northeastern Gansu ) are often planted in the Han Dynasty. ”
The scope of agricultural production discussed in Northern Wei Jia Sixun's Qi Min Zhi Shu is mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, which generally includes southeastern Shanxi, south-central Hebei, the north bank of the Yellow River in Henan, and Shandong. In addition, after Emperor Xiaowen of northern Wei moved the capital to Luoyang, he rebuilt the city of Luoyang and built a royal vegetable garden called Guangfeng Garden. The Northern Wei Yang Qi's "Luoyang Jialan Record" records: "Northeast of the Great Xia Gate, now is the Guangfeng Garden (i.e., the Alfalfa Garden), and the alfalfa is born. "There are also vegetable gardens in the Royal Hualin Garden, where a variety of seasonal vegetables are grown, including alfalfa. According to the "Shuyi Ji", "Zhang Qian's Alfalfa Garden, now in Luozhong, Alfalfa Ben Hu Chinese Cuisine, Zhang Qian began in Xi Rong. ”
The Ming Dynasty's "Qunfang Genealogy" also records the cultivation of alfalfa: "Zhang Qian brought seeds back from the great wan, and now there are them everywhere... The Three Jins are sheng, Qin and Lu are second, Yan and Zhao are second, and the Jiangnan people do not know it. This also shows that the cultivation area of alfalfa is mainly in the Yellow River Basin.
In terms of planting and growth habits, the Northern Wei Dynasty's "Qi Min Zhi Shu • Seed Alfalfa Twenty-ninth" summarized its planting method: "The ground should be good and hot. Planted in July. Watering is like the leek method. Also cut a dung, the iron oak is raised, and then the water is launched. Three cuts a year. Those who leave their children, once they are cut, they will stop. In early spring, it is both raw and fragrant. It is advisable to feed horses for a long time, and horses are especially fond of them. This thing lives forever, and the seeder once and for all. Duyi negative Guo, it is appropriate to plant it. "Furrow cultivation, that is, a method of cultivation in which farmland is divided into several small areas (furrows) for planting crops.
The gist of it is that alfalfa is suitable for planting on well-cultivated ground. Planted in July. The method of making furrows, planting seeds and watering is the same as the method of planting leeks. Also every time you cut it, you have to get the last dung; Use an iron rake to loosen the soil and then water it. Harvested three times a year. If you want to keep the seeds, you can only cut them once. After the spring, it can be eaten raw, and the soup is more fragrant. When it grows up, it can be used to feed the horses, and the horses especially like to eat. This plant can live forever, and those who plant it can harvest it year after year after planting it once. The suburbs of the city are suitable for cultivation.
It can be seen that the ancients have long recognized the root and regenerative nature of alfalfa. Rooting here refers to the ability of perennial herbaceous individuals to live longer than two years, still grow sustainably, flower and bear fruit many times, and have normal morphology of underground roots or underground stems without metamorphosis. Regeneration refers to the ability of a forage or forage crop to return to growth after being cut, grazed, trampled or rolled.
In the long-term cultivation process, many new alfalfa varieties have been naturally formed and artificially cultivated, and at present, there are four main types of alfalfa varieties in mainland production.
(1) Local varieties: such as Ao Han Alfalfa, Inner Mongolia Junger Alfalfa, Longdong Alfalfa, etc.;
(2) Breeding varieties: such as Gongnong No. 1 Alfalfa, Grassland No. 1 Alfalfa, Gannon No. 1 Miscellaneous Alfalfa;
(3) Domesticated varieties: such as Hulunbuir yellow alfalfa;
(4) Introduced varieties: such as Runbuler alfalfa, WL323HQ alfalfa.
Each variety has strong adaptability and can obtain higher yields in suitable planting areas, so when selecting varieties, new varieties should be determined according to the natural climatic conditions, soil conditions, forage utilization methods and variety adaptability of the cultivation area.
3// Alfalfa "Cultivating Soil"
In the process of long-term farming, the working people have summed up and sorted out their rich cultivation experience. As early as the Ming Dynasty, people have recognized and begun to use the nitrogen fixation effect of alfalfa root system to fertilize the field. Wang Xiangjin, an agronomist of the Ming Dynasty, recorded in the "Genealogy of Qunfang": "If (Alfalfa) plants grain in the following year after reclamation, it will be doubled, and the leaves will be rotten for several years, and the land will be reclaimed, so the three Jin people will cultivate the grass for three years, and they are eager to fertilize the land and plant grain." "It shows that after the growth of alfalfa for 3 years, the soil fertility has been significantly improved, which can make cereal crops with more nitrogen demand abundant."
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Guanzhong not only widely cultivated alfalfa as livestock forage, but also in the rotation of stubble crops, it has always been considered by farmers to be a good precursor crop for cereal crops and cotton. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Xianyang and the surrounding areas rotated stubble with wheat as the center, added alfalfa to long-term rotation, and generally planted alfalfa for five or six years, and then planted wheat for three or four consecutive years to take advantage of the high fertility of alfalfa stubble.
Alfalfa field
It can be seen that alfalfa in the Ming Dynasty has appeared in the rotation system, indicating that the mainland had an almost modern scientific grass field rotation based on alfalfa in the Ming Dynasty and practiced it.
Alfalfa has a well-developed root system, and its main root into the soil is usually 2 to 6 meters deep, which can absorb deep soil nutrients and deepen year by year with time. Its intricate root system is interspersed throughout the soil, increasing the organic matter in the soil, thereby accumulating over time and gradually deepening the humus layer. At the same time, its deep roots can absorb calcium in the deep soil, decompose phosphate, improve soil structure, increase water stability particles (that is, the structure is not dispersed in the water particles), thereby improving the physical properties of the soil, improving the water permeability of the soil, and enhancing the water storage and water retention capacity of the soil layer. Therefore, alfalfa has a significant role in improving soil and reducing soil erosion.
In addition, alfalfa is more adaptable to growth and can be planted in soils with a pH value of 5.5 to 9. The Qing Dynasty "Guancheng County Chronicle" recorded: "Alkaline land is cold and bitter, alfalfa can warm the ground, sex is not afraid of alkali, first plant alfalfa for several years, change the art of grains and vegetables and fruits, all of them are hairy." There is also a similar record in the "Simple Book of Saving The Wasteland": "The old farmer of Xiangfu County is known as alfalfa vegetables." Alkali resistance, should be planted alkali, and the performance of eating alkali, long planting alfalfa, can make alkali land not alkaline. Daoguang Shi Henan", "Fugou County Chronicle" recorded: "The only method of planting alfalfa is the best, alfalfa can warm the ground, not afraid of alkali, its seedlings can be eaten, and can be stored with livestock, and after three or four years, it is changed to five grains, the same as anointing soil." "There are countless similar records, which show that since ancient times, alfalfa has been a good hand in the treatment of saline and alkali land.
However, growing alfalfa is not a once and for all. Xu Guangqi, a scientist of the Ming Dynasty, mentioned in the "Complete Book of Agricultural Politics": "After seven or eight years of alfalfa, the roots are full and the land is not prosperous. It is advisable to plant it separately. Modern alfalfa science also confirms this, that is, alfalfa generally grows for seven or eight years and then declines, mainly due to the accumulation of rich nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other elements are relatively poor, but also more and more unfavorable to the growth of rhizobia, therefore, alfalfa began to grow poorly.
Alfalfa can be sown singlecast or mixed with other forage varieties in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas, grasslands, sandy lands, sandy lands with serious degradation of arable land and vegetation, and alkali saline lands with a salinity content of less than 0.3% to 0.4% and a pH of 8 to 9. At present, in order to meet the needs of animal husbandry development and ecological environment governance and construction, the planting area of alfalfa is gradually expanding, and gradually cultivating hardy, drought-resistant, salinity-resistant and wind-resistant sand varieties, which are promoted and applied in production, and the soil range of alfalfa suitable for cultivation is further expanding.
However, if it is necessary to establish a high-quality, high-yield alfalfa artificial grassland in production practice, it is necessary to choose the ideal plot according to the requirements, the terrain is flat, the soil layer is deep, the soil is fertile, the acid and alkali are moderate, and it is best to have irrigation facilities to achieve the purpose of high yield and stable yield of forage. When planting alfalfa in order to consolidate soil fertilization or restore vegetation, the requirements for terrain and soil do not have to be too strict, just take the necessary technical measures to ensure the success of planting.
4// Eat with alfalfa
Alfalfa was originally brought back to China as a pegasus forage, and in the subsequent planting process, the ancients gradually discovered that in addition to its feeding value, there are also edible, medicinal and other effects. In the Tang Dynasty Han E's "Four Temporal Categories", it is mentioned: "The land of burning alfalfa, burning in December." Once every two years, the outer roots of the ridge are cultivated, that is, they do not fade. Where alfalfa spring food as dry vegetables, to the benefit of people. ”
To the effect that alfalfa should be set on fire in December. Every two years, the spreading roots outside the ridge are plowed off once, and (alfalfa) will grow forever. Eating alfalfa or doing dried vegetables in the spring is extremely beneficial.
Alfalfa into the dish
Kouzong of the Song Dynasty mentioned in the "Materia Medica" that "there are many people in Shaanxi, who feed cattle and horses, and eat them when they are tender." ”
Alfalfa is often known for its high protein content, each 100 grams of fresh alfalfa contains about 5.9 grams of protein, 9.7 grams of carbohydrates, 3.28 mg of carotene, at the same time, it is also rich in vitamins and amino acids. In the spring, the newborn alfalfa buds are the most tender and easy to enter, alfalfa buds are only 23 kcal per 100 grams of calories, which is a low-calorie and nutrient-rich natural alkaline food, which can help meat eaters neutralize the acidity of the blood in the body.
Its production method is also common, just a simple blanch, accompanied by salt, chicken essence, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and other seasonings, sprinkled with garlic foam, green onions, white sesame seeds can be plated, home cooking cold mix alfalfa sprouts simple and delicious.
Alfalfa tea, on the other hand, is prepared by killing, twisting, sautéing and titian on the tip of alfalfa buds. Alfalfa tea can promote the body's acid-base balance and intestinal peristalsis, has the effect of weight loss and beauty, has the effect of eliminating uric acid for gout patients, can play a laxative effect for patients with constipation, has the effect of coughing and asthma for tracheitis, and can play a role in tonifying blood for patients with anemia.
Alfalfa honey
More commonly, alfalfa is added to honey. In the northern part of the mainland, alfalfa flowers, rape flowers, locust tree flowers and ginseng flowers are listed as the four major honey source plants. Alfalfa three stubbles a year, long flowering period, although the quality of nectar is good, but the yield is low, the honey production period of alfalfa honey is from July to September of each year, the harvest period is August of each year, the color of alfalfa honey is purple or light purple according to different origins, the taste is pure, and the entrance is melted.
Pure alfalfa honey will produce crystals in the following year, crystalline like purple jade, delicate as fat, aromatic, sweet taste, warm white taste, first-class honey. According to traditional experience, 0.2 hectares of alfalfa can meet the stocking needs of a group of bees, and each group of bees can produce 20 to 25 kg of honey a year, so planting alfalfa is very beneficial to the development of beekeeping.
The medicinal properties of alfalfa are also very prominent, its nature is slightly cold, the taste is light, attributed to the spleen, stomach, kidney meridians, with the role of clearing stomach heat, clearing damp heat, relieving depression in the heart, diuresis, swelling and so on. In addition to the general population, it is especially suitable for patients with tracheitis, anemia, pernicious anemia, bronchitis, damp heat, jaundice, enteritis, constipation, intestinal bleeding and other patients for long-term consumption.
The earliest ancient record of the herbal nature of alfalfa is the "Famous Doctors' Catalogue" of the late Han Dynasty, which describes alfalfa as: "Bitter taste, flat, non-toxic." The Lord is safe, beneficial to the people, and can be eaten for a long time. Meng Xue, a famous doctor of the Tang Dynasty, said that he was "beneficial to the five internal organs, light and healthy, washing away the evil qi between the spleen and stomach, and all kinds of evil heat and poison." Tang Sujing's "New Cultivation of Materia Medica" records: "The stems and leaves of alfalfa are flat, and the roots are cold." Main fever, irritability, yellow eyes, yellow urine, drunkenness. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" discussed the root of alfalfa: "Mash the juice and fry the drink." Cure sand and stone gonorrhea. ”
Alfalfa contains a large amount of iron, which can be used as an auxiliary food for patients with iron deficiency anemia to replenish blood. In addition, the vitamin B group in alfalfa can enhance the effect of iron tonic blood, and it is very effective in the treatment of pernicious anemia. As a vegetable with a high vitamin K content in common ingredients, the use of alfalfa also has a hemostatic effect.
At the same time, alfalfa contains plant saponin components, plant saponins can be combined with the body's cholesterol, and promote increased excretion, thereby greatly reducing cholesterol content, coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis has a positive effect on the prevention and treatment. Alfalfa also contains an important nutrient for black hair, and in today's increasing focus on hair health, it should be included in the home menu by the majority of diners.
Author: Zi Yu
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