Sulla

Hedysarum flexuosum

Description

Morphology

Mediterranean fodder legume, annual sulla is very close to its cousin H. coronarium. Present in North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula (nevertheless relatively limited) it can grow throughout the Mediterranean Basin on fertile clay soils, alone or in combination (especially with cereals or annual forage grasses like barley, oats, wheat, bromine, etc.).

Annual, diploid species (2n = 16), mainly cross-pollinates. The sulla has small purplish flowers (8-12 mm) and bent pods.

A study of the North African population noticed high phenotypic variation, for example the length of the main stem, length of lateral branches, precocity, etc. Algerian populations, for example, are more upright.

Geographically not widely spread, and with its population size decreasing, the annual sulla presents a significant risk of genetic erosion.

Geography

Culture

Chemical Composition

In %	Water	Nitrogen	Fat	Soluble carbohydrates	Fibrous carbohydrates	Ashes
Forage: green	79.7	3.3	0.9	7.1	6.3	2.7

Usage

Sulla is erect, which facilitates mowing. It is used in winter and spring pastures with a good food value. As a nitrogen-fixing legume, it allows nitrogen enrichment of the plot that it occupies (including the fallow), and protects against sloping soil erosion.
It tends to be present in areas with rainfall above 550 mm / year.

Techniques

Seedlings	Period	Amount seeded
In rows, dry crop	after first rains of the autumn	25-50 kg/ha

It provides two to three regrowths which can be used alternatively for mowing, for pasture or for the production of seeds.

In q/ha	In green	In hay	In grain
Yield	140-280	35-70	2-3