Sainfoin
Useful properties and cultivation of sainfoin
Botanical characteristics of sainfoin sainfoin
Sainfoin is a perennial herb, the height of which reaches 30–70 cm. It belongs to the legume family. The sainfoin root is taproot, the stem is straight, its upper part is branched. Leaves are odd-pinnate, compound, formed from 15–25 small leaves. Sainfoin is distinguished by bright, beautiful pink-purple flowers, they are collected in clusters, the length of which can reach 20 cm.
The fruit of the plant is a protein-rich bean. Flowering begins from the second year of plant life, sainfoin blooms from early summer to early July. Each blossoming flower does not live long - 10-12 hours. Honey plant: from one hectare, on which there are up to 500 million flowers, bee colonies can collect up to 6 kg of honey in one day. The pollen and nectar collection from sainfoin helps to strengthen the bee colonies.
The honey collected from this plant is transparent, fragrant and tasty, light amber, does not sugarcoat for a long time. Sainfoin is highly valued in the world of beekeeping, its qualities are taken into account when forming apiaries in the Voronezh and Rostov regions, in the North Caucasus and in the Transcaucasus. Sainfoin grows on the edges of forests, meadows, among bushes.
Useful properties of sainfoin
Sainfoin is cultivated as a forage plant. It contains a large amount of protein, as well as fats, carbohydrates and amino acids. This crop has a high value in animal husbandry; it is sown to obtain grass meal and hay for livestock feed. Most zootechnicians give preference to sainfoin over alfalfa, since the feed prepared on its basis has a positive effect on the condition of animals.
The flavones, nitrogen-free compounds, ascorbic acid and rutin included in the plant make it possible to speak of sainfoin as a medicinal plant. Nitrogen-free compounds help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels, normalize the activity of the gastrointestinal tract, stimulate intestinal peristalsis and improve the absorption of nutrients that come with food.
Ascorbic acid significantly improves immunity, helps to strengthen the central nervous system (central nervous system), and normalizes metabolism. Amino acids, being the "building material" of the body, help people recover from illnesses, regain strength after heavy physical exertion, are useful for athletes who have a high energy consumption during the training period.
The flavones that make up the plant have an anti-inflammatory effect, they have a positive effect on cardiovascular and oncological diseases, and strengthen the walls of blood vessels. Sainfoin seeds contain sucrose, raffinose, fatty oils with solid fatty acids. In addition, sainfoin contains vitamin P (rutin).
Vitamin P by the human body is not able to be produced on its own, so it must be consumed with food or decoctions from plants.
The use of sainfoin
Preparations prepared on the basis of sainfoin promote the production of hormones in men that increase sexual activity - testosterone and androgens. For treatment, not only infusions and decoctions from this plant are used, but also medications produced by a number of pharmaceutical companies. These medications will significantly improve the quality of your erection.
In folk medicine, sainfoin is recommended as an immune-strengthening agent that increases the body's resistance to various infectious diseases, it is also used to treat dysfunction of the gonads (menstrual irregularities in women, impotence in men), and is prescribed for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Infusions and decoctions of sainfoin help to lower blood cholesterol levels, increase hemoglobin levels.
Infusions and decoctions are used as an effective tonic, as well as an effective medicine for uterine bleeding. Esparcet is an important component of a number of drugs developed for the treatment of ovarian dysfunction in women, algomenorrhea (pain during menstruation), juvenile bleeding, and premenopause.
Sainfoin seeds
The seeds of sainfoin are in the form of beans, they are embossed to the touch, grayish-yellow-green in color. On the territory of Russia, the following types of sainfoin are chosen for cultivation: sandy sainfoin, sainfoin sainfoin, Transcaucasian sainfoin. The ideal depth for sowing sainfoin is 2–3 cm. If you increase the depth - for example, 5–6 cm - the seeds will likely not sprout. The sowing rate is 1.2 kg of seeds per 1 hundred square meters of land. The plant is sown, as a rule, under the cover of early grain crops.
Growing sainfoin
On the territory of the CIS countries, especially in Ukraine, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, three main types of sainfoin are grown: sainfoin sainfoin (vikolistiy), sandy sainfoin, Transcaucasian sainfoin. They are used as a useful forage plant, in addition, sainfoin is a valuable honey plant.
Sainfoin is good to grow in forage polyfields. The precursors recommended for the plant are corn, potatoes, beets, as well as crops that were grown with organic fertilizers. The soil on which the sunflower was grown is not suitable for growing sainfoin, since such a plant dries out the soil.
For the correct cultivation of sainfoin, soil cultivation technology is especially important. It consists in leveling the top layer of the earth, pre-sowing and post-sowing packing. Before you start sowing, you need to make sure that the area is free of weeds, carefully leveled and there are no large clods of soil on it.
If you need to get a high yield, it is important to fertilize the previous soil (poor) with organic fertilizers. The dosage is 60 to 80 kg / ha. For nitrogen fertilizers, the figures are different: for annual grasses - 30–45 kg / ha, for barley - 40–50 kg / ha. It is forbidden to use liquid forms of nitrogen fertilizers, as their use can damage seedlings. Phosphate and potash fertilizers are useful.
For sainfoin, acidic soils are undesirable, since nodule bacteria develop poorly in them, as a result of which the assimilation of nitrogen from the air by plants is significantly reduced. Therefore, acidic soils are recommended to be liming beforehand. Sainfoin sprouts do not react well to the shade, in addition, they need cover crops (winter cereals, spring crops, green fodder, annual grasses), which are harvested early for fodder.
Sowing sainfoin
Sowing sainfoin begins with soil preparation, peeling and weed removal. It is recommended to prepare poor soil using potash and phosphorus fertilizers. Sowing itself begins in the spring, in contrast to soil preparation, which takes place until the end of October. Sainfoin and grass mixture (barley and oats) are sown under cover.
The best sowing method is lowercase. It is important to observe the accuracy of the sowing depth: on heavy soils it is 2–3 cm, on light and medium soils - 3–4 cm. If the depth is made deeper than the prescribed depth, the shoots may not sprout. After the sowing is completed, the soil is rolled tightly. It is necessary to collect the cover crop in a timely manner, remove the straw from the field. In order to protect against pests, it is allowed to spray crops with insecticides ("Aktellik", "Volaton").
Sainfoin like honey plant
Sainfoin is deservedly considered one of the best honey plants. The Transcaucasian sainfoin is of particular value - its honey productivity can be (under favorable conditions) 400 kg per hectare. Strong colonies of bees collect about 4 kg of honey from sainfoin in one day. The honey collected from sainfoin flowers is characterized by a light amber hue, transparency, rich taste and delicate aroma. honey does not crystallize for a long time.
Honey contains proteins, carbohydrates, ascorbic acid, carotene, enzymes and other substances useful for the human body. Sainfoin flowers begin to secrete nectar at an air temperature of 22 to 25 ° C. It should be noted that the largest amount of nectar is released in wide-row crops. In order to increase the amount of honey from the sainfoin, it is important to prepare the apiary for the beginning of flowering. The flowering of sainfoin usually coincides with the brood period in bees, and a large proportion of the honey is spent on feeding it.
Sainfoin varieties
Sainfoin belongs to the legume family. About 80 species of this plant are known to grow wild in central and southern Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. The most demanded in modern culture are only a few varieties: Transcaucasian, sowing (vikolistny), sandy, as well as their hybrids.
The Transcaucasian sainfoin, in comparison with other species, brings the most yield. It is resistant to drought and frost, grows quickly after mowing, in one season, you can achieve two, and sometimes three mows. This variety is planted mainly in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia.
Sandy sainfoin got its name from its ability to grow on any soil, including sandy. It is resistant to drought and frost. The disadvantages of sandy sainfoin are its rough stem and a small amount of leaves. In modern culture, hybrid varieties of this plant are popular.
Sowing (vicoliate) sainfoin is one of the most common varieties, it ripens earlier than all cultivated cultivated species for 1.5–2 weeks. Sowing sainfoin, unlike its relatives, does not tolerate cold and drought poorly and gives one cut per season.
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Sainfoin sowing. Due to its composition, the plant is used by traditional healers to treat disorders of the sex glands (impotence in men or menstrual irregularities in women), with uterine bleeding. Infusions and decoctions based on it are recommended for the purpose of enhancing immunity, for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, and also as a tonic. Sainfoin helps to reduce blood cholesterol levels, increases hemoglobin levels.
Sandy sainfoin. Sandy sainfoin (other names - "hare peas", "ravenets", "red burkun", "white cornflowers", "red gorse", etc.) is a perennial, reaching a height of 80 cm. Its root system is quite powerful, the root grows deep, reaching 2.7 meters. Stems are thick, erect, there are times when the stem becomes very rough at the base. Leaves are odd-pinnate, compound, they consist of 6-10 pairs of oblong-lanceolate leaves. The inflorescence is a multi-flowered raceme, the length of which can reach 20 cm.
The flowers are large, moth type, delicate pink, sometimes white, collected in dense brushes. The fruit of the plant is an egg-shaped bean. Its length is from 5 to 7 mm, its thickness is about 4 mm, its color is brownish brown. The seeds are brown, kidney-shaped. This sainfoin variety blooms in May-July.
The aboveground part of the plant contains proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, a number of enzymes, tannins, coumarins. The seeds contain up to 8% fatty oils. Sainfoin is used in folk medicine as infusions and decoctions. It has a positive effect on the restoration of sexual activity in men, therefore, in combination with other plants, this type is used to treat impotence.
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Recipe for making an infusion from the roots of sainfoin. It is required to take 1 tablespoon of the finished raw material (crushed roots of sainfoin) and pour boiling water in an amount of 300 ml, put on low heat and boil for 0.5 hours, then insist for 8 hours, and then strain. Dosing regimen - 3 times a day: in the morning and in the afternoon, 60 ml each, before dinner - the rest of the infusion.
Sainfoin as a siderat
Sainfoin is not only a good fodder plant, one of the best melliferous plants and a "folk healer", it is also an excellent green manure (used for soil-protective crop rotation). It is grown for the purpose of subsequent embedding in the soil as an organic fertilizer. Sainfoin is one of the best predecessors. It is rich in proteins, carbohydrates, fats, trace elements, nitrogen-free compounds, vitamin C, rutin, flavonoids and amino acids.
Sainfoin is interesting as a soil enrichment with nitrogen, phosphorus, organic substances.
Contraindications to the use of sainfoin
To date, no contraindications to the use of sainfoin have been identified. Discontinue use in case of individual intolerance.
The author of the article: Sokolova Nina Vladimirovna | Phytotherapist
Education: Diploma in "General Medicine" and "Therapy" received at the Pirogov University (2005 and 2006). Advanced training at the Department of Phytotherapy at the Peoples' Friendship University of Moscow (2008).
