Editing Alfalfa (section)

=== History ===
Alfalfa seems to have originated in south-central Asia, and was first cultivated in [[Central Asia]].<ref name=Westgate>{{cite book|last=Westgate|first=J. M.|title=Alfalfa|year=1908|publisher=U. S. Department of Agriculture|location=Washington|page=5|url=http://www.naaic.org/Resources/Alfalfa1908.pdf|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=Oakley>{{cite book|last=Oakley|first=R. A.|title=How to Grow Alfalfa|year=1922|publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|page=3|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc6202/m1/5/|author2=Westover, H. L.|oclc=15432716}}</ref> According to [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny (died 79 AD)]], it was introduced to Greece in about 490 BC when the [[First Persian invasion of Greece|Persians invaded Greek territory]]. Alfalfa cultivation is discussed in the fourth-century AD book ''Opus Agriculturae'' by [[Rutilius Taurus Aemilianus Palladius|Palladius]], stating: "One sow-down lasts ten years. The crop may be cut four or six times a year ... A [[jugerum]] of it is abundantly sufficient for three horses all the year ... It may be given to cattle, but new provender is at first to be administered very sparingly, because it bloats up the cattle."<ref>{{cite book|last=Palladius|title=Opus Agriculturae|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/opusagriculturae00pall|chapter=Book V, § I|year=1898}} Links to online copies are listed at the foot of the Wikipedia article [[Rutilius Taurus Aemilianus Palladius]].</ref>

The medieval Arabic agricultural writer [[Ibn al-'Awwam]], who lived in [[Spain]] in the later 12th century, discussed how to cultivate alfalfa, which he called {{lang|ar|الفصفصة}} (''{{transliteration|ar|al-fiṣfiṣa}}'').<ref>{{cite book|last=Ibn al-'Awwam|title=Kitāb al-filāḥa|trans-title=Book of Agriculture|chapter=Chapter XXII, § VIII}} Links to online copies in French, Spanish, and Arabic are listed at the foot of the Wikipedia article [[Ibn al-'Awwam]].</ref> A 13th-century general-purpose Arabic dictionary, ''[[Lisān al-'Arab]]'', says that alfalfa is cultivated as an animal feed and consumed in both fresh and dried forms.<ref>''Lisān al-'Arab'' is online at [http://www.baheth.info/ Baheth.info] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192325/http://www.baheth.info/ |date=29 October 2013 }}. Search for فصفصة in the dictionary. (The dictionary is also downloadable at Archive.org but that version doesn't have searchable text).</ref> It is from the Arabic that the Spanish name ''alfalfa'' was derived.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dozy|first=R.|title=Glossaire des mots espagnols et portugais dérivés de l'arabe|year=1869|publisher=E. J. Brill|location=Leiden|page=101|url=https://archive.org/stream/glossairedesmots00dozyuoft#page/101/mode/1up|edition=2nd|author2=Engelmann, W. H.|access-date=28 July 2013|language=fr|ol=23301798M}} {{cite encyclopedia|title=Alfalfa|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alfalfa|dictionary=Dictionary.com|access-date=28 July 2013}} {{cite web|title=Alfalfa|url=http://www.yourdictionary.com/alfalfa|publisher=YourDictionary|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref>

In the 16th century, Spanish colonizers introduced alfalfa to the Americas as fodder for their horses.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bilello|first=Stanley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yZc_DQAAQBAJ&dq=Spanish+colonizers+introduced+alfalfa+to+the+Americas+as+fodder+for+their+horses&pg=PA1|title=21st Century Homestead: Nitrogen-Fixing Crops|date=2016-10-10|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-365-45290-1|language=en}}</ref>

In the [[Thirteen Colonies|North American colonies of the eastern US]] in the 18th century, it was called "lucerne", and many trials at growing it were made, but generally without sufficiently successful results.<ref name=Oakley/> Relatively little is grown in the [[southeastern US]] today.<ref name="Crop Production 2012"/> Lucerne (or ''luzerne'') is the name for alfalfa in Britain, Australia, [[France]], [[Germany]], and a number of other countries. Alfalfa seeds were imported to [[California]] from [[Chile]] in the 1850s. That was the beginning of a rapid and extensive introduction of the crop over the [[western US]]<ref name=Westgate/> and introduced the word "alfalfa" to the English language. Since North and South America now produce a large part of the world's output, the word "alfalfa" has been slowly entering other languages.