Trigonella foenum-graecum L.
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Trigonella foenum-graecum L.
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Leguminoseae |
Author: J.M. Suttie |
Common names Fenugreek; fenugrec (France), fieno greco (Italy) alholva, feno-greco (Spain), helba (Arabic), methi (India, Pakistan) Description An erect annual to 50 cm. which may be branched, the leaves are trifoliate and the leaflets oblong-lanceolate, to 5 cm. Its yellowish flowers 12 – 18 mm long (1 – 2) are in the leaf axils. The fruits are almost straight and flattened with a pronounced beak ;they are 50 – 110 mm long excluding the beak of 10 – 35 mm. Chromosome number 2n=16. The seeds are brownish, about 1/8 inch long, oblong, rhomboidal, with a deep furrow dividing them into two unequal lobes; they are contained, ten to twenty together, in long, narrow, sickle-like pods. There are about 50 000 seeds per kilogramme. Fenugreek is a fodder of very ancient cultivation in Mediterranean countries. A highly aromatic plant which is used as a pot-herb, spice and fodder. It is widely grown in India and neighbouring countries as a flavouring and fodder, and in North Africa and Western Asia as a fodder and spice. The dried leaves of a small, clover-like, rosette forming, small-seeded type (Kasuri methi) var. corniculata (or sometimes Trigonella corniculata) is grown in Punjab and its foliage marketed dried as a flavouring. Water It is cultivated both under irrigation and as a rainfed crop. Soil It will grow on a wide range of well drained soils. Distribution Fenugreek is grown as a cool season crop in India and the Mediterranean region both irrigated and as a rainfed crop; it will grow on a wide range of well drained soils. In cooler areas it may be grown in summer – the seed crop requires warm dry weather for ripening and harvest. Crop management It is either sown in spring or autumn according to climate. In Punjab it has been used as a summer catch-crop fodder or green manure, ripening in 2.5 - 3 months. Seed rates vary widely from 10 to 40 kg/ha, the lower rates being for rainfed crops. As a forage it is broadcast or drilled at 20 - 30 kg ha in pure stand or often mixed with oats. As a forage it is often fed as hay. Mixtures with small cereals are best for haymaking; it should be mown when the pods are well formed. The hay is nutritious, but highly aromatic and may flavour milk. Hard-seededness is not a problem, nor is seed production since fenugreek has been grown for its seeds as well as fodder since antiquity. Seed production When grown for seed it is usually grown in rows about 50 centimetres apart and thinned to 5-10 cm. The ripe crop is hand cut, and is often dried off the field before threshing. Nutritional Quality and Animal Production Fenugreek is highly palatable to livestock; the seed meal was considered therapeutic and stimulatory but is no longer part of the veterinary pharmacopoeia. Composition See tables in AFRIS database, Feed Resources Group, FAO Animal Production and Health Division Crop use and grazing management It has long been used as hay or green feed and is reputed to be highly nutritious. It is not suited to grazing. As a hay crop it is best mixed with a white-straw cereal. Conservation Mixtures with small cereals are best for haymaking; it should be mown when the pods are well formed. The hay is nutritious, but highly aromatic, with a high content of coumarone, it may flavour milk and this must be taken into account in the timing of its use. Links
References Guedas J.R. and Zorita E. (1972); Kamath S.H. and Sohonie K. (1959); Patel B.M. (1966); Sen K.C. (1938); Van Etten C.H. et al. (1961). Additional information [taken from Sincich, F. 2002. Bedouin Traditional Medicine in the Syrian Steppe. Rome, FAO. 96-97.] Flowering March-April. Crop use and grazing management Medical use: abdominal colic, bronchitis, cough, sprains, treatment after childbirth, digestive, abortive, purgative, galactagogue, diabetes, emmenagogue, stomachic, anthelmintic, asthma, emphysema, aphrodisiac, reconstituent, sedative for palpitations, icterus, gastro-intestinal troubles, fevers, constipation, sterility. Chemical data Steroidal saponin, diosgenin (in seeds oil), trigonelline (alkaloids
from seeds), trigofoenosides. |