|
legume
legume , common name for any plant of the family Leguminosae, which is called also the pulse , legume, pea, or bean family. The word is often used loosely in the plural for vegetables in general. Botanically, a legume is the characteristic fruit of the pulse family plants, called also leguminous pl...
Read more
|
|
pod
pod or legume, dehiscent fruit of a member of the family Leguminosae ( pulse family). At maturity the pod splits along its two seams and releases the enclosed seeds.
...
Read more
|
|
rotation of crops
rotation of crops agricultural practice of varying the crops on a piece of land in a planned series, to save or increase the mineral or organic content of the soil, to increase crop yields, and to eradicate weeds, insects, and plant diseases. In a rotation, it is often desirable to alternate a cult...
Read more
|
|
cowpea
cowpea black-eyed pea, or black-eyed bean, annual legume ( Vigna sinensis ) of the pulse family. Introduced in the early 18th cent. from the Old World to the S United States, it has become a staple of Southern cooking and an important catch crop , soil enhancer, and forage. Cowpea, ...
Read more
|
|
hay
hay wild or cultivated plants, chiefly grasses and legumes, mown and dried for use as livestock fodder. Hay is an important factor in cattle raising and is one of the leading crops of the United States. Alfalfa, timothy, and red clover are the principal hay crops. After mowing, the hay is left spre...
Read more
|
|
liming
liming , application to the soil of calcium in various forms, generally as ground limestone, but also as marl, chalk, shells, or hydrated lime. Lime benefits soil by neutralizing acidity, improving texture, and increasing the activity of soil microorganisms. It enables bacteria on the roots of legum...
Read more
|
|
nitrogen cycle
nitrogen cycle the continuous flow of nitrogen through the biosphere by the processes of nitrogen fixation, ammonification (decay), nitrification, and denitrification. Nitrogen is vital to all living matter, both plant and animal; it is an essential constituent of amino acids, which form proteins...
Read more
|
|
pulse
pulse in botany, common name for members of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae), a large plant family, called also the pea, or legume, family. Numbering about 650 genera and 17,000 species, the family is third largest, after the asters and the orchids. Some botanists divide the Fabaceae into three or more s...
Read more
|
|
dietary fiber
dietary fiber bulky part of food that cannot be broken down by enzymes in the small intestine of the digestive system. Almost all natural fiber comes from plants. Although fiber has little nutritional value, it offers other health benefits. By adding bulk to the diet, fiber prevents constipation, m...
Read more
|
|
silage
silage or ensilage , succulent, moist feed made by storing a green crop in a silo . The crop most used for silage is corn; others are sorghum, sunflowers, legumes, and grass. In a sealed silo, typically in the past a tall cylindrical structure but often today in a surface pile covered tightly w...
Read more
|