Why are medics a regenerating wonder?
Annual medics have hard seeds, which means it will
remain dormant in the soil for a year or two. This allows
for pasture regeneration after a cropping phase. No es-
tablishment costs are therefore needed during the pas-
ture phase. Different cultivars have different levels of
hardseededness and it is recommended to plant a vari-
ety of cultivars to ensure its survival, especially under
erratic rainfall conditions. Other hard-seeded species
include clovers ( Trifolium spp.).
Annual medics’ seed pods during the dry
season (summer) in the Western Cape
(Photographer: Piet Lombard)
Did you know?
?
Annual medics are legumes, which
have the ability to fixate nitrogen.
They must be carefully inoculated to
ensure successful fixation. Nitrogen
is one of the most important ele-
ments of pasture nutrition. Protein
levels and the digestibility of pas-
tures are improved by legumes, re-
sulting in improved livestock perfor-
mance.
Emergence of regenerating annual medics
(Photographer: Piet Lombard)
Annual medics form part of crop rotation systems cultivated
on the Langgewens Research Farm outside of Malmesbury
in the Swartland region of the Western Cape.
(Photographer: Dr Johann Strauss)
How to distinguish annual medics from clovers ( Trifolium spp.):
• Medics have yellow flowers
• Most clovers have white, pink or purple flowers
• The central leaflet of medics has a longer stalk than the
two lateral leaflets
• The leaflets of clovers have stalks of equal length
Other growing requirements:
• Sandy to clayey soils
• Neutral to alkaline soils (pH > 6.7)
• > 350 mm of rainfall for optimal production
Annual medics provide nutritious
pasture to sheep in the Western Cape
(Photographer: Piet Lombard)
Re fer enc es:
Le Ro ux, AA . 20 1 5. The e ffe ct of s oi l res idu e c ov er on Medi c a g o pas tu r e e s ta bl is h m en t a n d pr o du c ti on u n de r c o ns e r v ati o n
ag ri cul t ur a l pr a ct i c es . Ma s te r ’s thes is . Ste llen bos c h Univ e rsi ty, So uth Af r ic a .
Sw ane poe l PA. Tshum a F. 2 017 . S oil qual ity e ffec t s on rege ner a ti on o f a n nu a l M e d ic a go p a st ur e i n t he S w ar tl a nd o f S o u th Afr ica
A frica n Jo u rna l of R ange & Fora ge Sc ienc e, 3 4:4 , 2 01-20 8.
B arenbr ug Pr o du c t Gui de :
http
s:/ / / ww
https:
www. ba r enb r ug. co. za /fo rage /pro duc ts / medic s / medic s
12