Vetch species from Vavilov's institute collection - promising forages for cultivation in Russian Federation (a review)

Vicia species with economical potential for Russia as forage and fodder crops are observed. Biological properties, distribution, the level of domestication are given for 23 species. Almost all of them have no specific soil requirements, are adopted to the areas with pan-temperate climate and moderate rainfall. The plants have high protein content in a dry matter (15.0-24.6 %) and in seeds (23.7-39.9 %). Due to the quantity of essential amino acids vetches are on the third place among grain legumes after pea and faba bean. The digestibility of crude protein is the highest among fodder grain legumes. Many vetches have short maturity period - about 80 days. The sources of valuable agronomic traits (high seed productivity, low content of antinutritional substances, cold and drought tolerance, resistance to root rot e.a.) have been revealed among wild vetches. Some species domesticated in other countries and promising for Russia are discussed.