Goat's rue honey plant: description and agricultural technology of the plant, productivity and benefits

There are many plants from which bees collect nectar. Buckwheat, acacia are known to many, but much less is known about the properties of goat's rue. At the same time, the grass is fodder, used as green manure, enriching the soil with nitrogen, and has a medicinal potential. Details about the properties of this amazing plant will surely be useful and interesting to farmers.

Agricultural value and description

Oriental goat's rue, or galega - perennial (up to 10 years) herbaceous plant. Belongs to the legume family. It has a southern origin, grows wild in the North Caucasus. Varietal varieties of goat's rue reach a height of 140-200 centimeters.

Grass with a straight hollow stem, leafy and branched, the plant bushes, each bush contains from 10 to 15-18 stems. Each of them is covered with large, complex, pinnate leaves (5-6 pairs), which do not fall off when the plant dries. The leaves are pubescent along the edges.

Inflorescence in the form of a straight multi-flowered brush, with large flowers of purple, bluish or white. The openness of the flowers and the shallow location of the nectaries make the plant attractive to bees and an excellent honey plant. The raceme usually has 20 to 75 flowers.

Fruits in the form of a brown bean. Goat's rue seeds are large, during the collection period - a greenish tint, during storage they become brown. Galega is a plant with a powerful tap root that has numerous lateral branches.The root goes into the soil to a depth of 50-70 centimeters. Under the ground, 3-4 buds are formed on the stem, which in the spring provide the growth of perennials. Over time, goat's rue plantings thicken.

Galega grows well in open sunny areas, does not tolerate shading. It develops on chernozem, loamy, sandy loamy soils. Drained peatlands and floodplain areas are suitable for it. The best for the plant is considered a neutral type of soil. Grows worse on poor and acidic soils.

Grass serves as green fodder for farm animals, contains carotene, ascorbic acid, minerals needed by animals, enhances milk production. It is used for preparation of silage, haylage, hay. The plant has a high productivity. Produce 2-3 grass mowing per season, depending on the region of sowing. Under optimal conditions, the amount of green mass is from 30 to 70 tons per hectare, increasing annually, the mass of hay obtained is 15-17 tons per 1 hectare.

The plant is not afraid of cold weather and tolerates drought very well. In snowless winters, it withstands temperatures down to -23-25 °C. A significant layer of snow allows the plant to survive in frosts down to -35-40 ° C. The grass is used as green manure. Galega loosens the soil with powerful roots, saturates it with nitrogen. This improves the condition of the soil. Mowed green mass is an excellent natural fertilizer.

Cultural agricultural technology

The plant is best sown after row or grain crops or forage grasses. Seeds are buried in the ground by 1.5-2 centimeters. Before sowing, a phosphate-potassium fertilizer complex is applied to the soil.

Important: do not use nitrogen fertilizers when sowing goat's rue, as the plant is nitrogen-fixing.

Sowing is done in the last decade of April or the first decade of May, depending on the region. Seeds are scarified before sowing (the hard upper shell is opened to speed up germination). In addition, they are treated with Nitragin or Rezotorfin (bacterial preparations).

For plants of the first year, weed control is relevant, before sowing, the plots are treated with Eradikan or Treflan. Plants of the second and subsequent years "clog" weeds on their own. The first mowing is carried out during the grass flowering period, the next - in September, early October.

Sow seeds in an ordinary or wide-row (with significant weediness of the site) method. Seed germination occurs at a temperature of +6 °C, they remain viable for 7-8 years.

Honey and nectar productivity of the plant

During the flowering period, bees can collect up to 50-100 kilograms of nectar from 1 hectare of plantings.In the morning and before noon, the opened inflorescences of the galega attract the bees with a strong, persistent aroma. Galega bloom lasts about 1 month. From open, convenient for collecting nectar and pollinating flowers of plants, striped workers can collect up to 100-110 kilograms of honey from 1 hectare.

The plant provides bees with pollen and nectar. The resulting honey has a shade from light yellow to orange, depending on the accompanying honey plants.

This honey is used:

• to strengthen immunity;
• increased lactation during breastfeeding babies;
• in cosmetology, when using masks for skin and hair, anti-cellulite wraps;
• as a diaphoretic.

Monofleur product is not available from goat's rue.

Flower period

Galega blooms at the end of May. Flowering continues for a month. To make full use of this period, you can mow the plant for silage at the end of flowering. Then the agricultural producer will get full return from it as from a honey plant and can use the green mass to prepare feed for farm animals. Early flowering provides bee colonies and brood with valuable protein food.

Healing properties

The tops of flowering goat's rue and grass leaves have healing power. Galega has diuretic properties, anthelmintic and hypoglycemic effects, is used for colds, as a diaphoretic. The decoction is consumed 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day.

Oriental goat's rue is a valuable and easy-to-cultivate fodder crop that can feed livestock, help beekeepers to harvest an excellent harvest of honey, and alleviate a person's condition with a cold.Therefore, the benefits of this unpretentious herb are obvious, and it is becoming increasingly popular among agricultural producers.

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