Bitter vetch
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| iBitter Vetch | ||||||||||||||||
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| Vicia ervilia (L.) Willd. |
The Bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia) is an ancient grain legume crop of the Mediterranean region (common names are: bitter vetch (English), kersannah (Arabic), yero (Spanish), rovi (Greek), burcak (Turkish)). The nutritional value of the grain for ruminant production has guaranteed the continued cultivation of V. ervilia in Morocco, Spain and Turkey. The crop is easy to cultivate and harvest and can be grown on very shallow, alkaline soils.
Bitter vetch grain when split resembles red lentils. For human consumption the bitterness of the seeds needs to be removed through leaching by several changes of boiling water. Due to its bitterness uninformed substitution for red lentils is not likely.
The grain is an excellent sheep and cattle feed concentrate. It has been held in high esteem by farmers in the Old World since the beginning of agriculture to improve the nutritional value of bulk feeds.
[edit] Reference
Enneking & Francis (1997) http://www.general.uwa.edu.au/u/enneking/erv_97.htm
Bellido, L. L. (1994). Grain legumes for animal feed. Bermejo, J. E. Hernando and Leon, J. (Eds). Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective, Rome: FAO, pp. 273-288 Plant Production and Protection Series No. No 26 http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/legume_animal.html
