Çiçekpınar Yoncası (Alfalfa)

Registration No: 1532

Name of Geographical Indication: Çiçekpınar Yoncası (Alfalfa)

Type of Geographical Indication: Indication of Source

Method of Use: The "Çiçekpınar Yoncası" phrase and the indication of source emblem are used on the product. In cases where they cannot be used on the product, the "Çiçekpınar Yoncası" phrase and the indication of source emblem are kept in a way that is easily visible within the establishment.

Product Description and Distinguishing Characteristics

Çiçekpınar Yoncası is a perennial forage plant with the Latin species name Medicago sativa L. This alfalfa is particularly renowned for its reputation linked to the Çiçekpınar Town of the Şarkikaraağaç district, and it has become identified with alfalfa cultivation and crop production in the historical development of the region.

The product is traded as dry or fresh alfalfa in the form of bulk bundles or alfalfa bales. As it is a perennial forage plant, it is long-lived; multiple harvests can be obtained from a well-established alfalfa field in subsequent years with minimal cost and labor. In addition to having high forage yields under irrigated farming conditions, it is a plant with high water-use efficiency when grown under dry farming conditions. With its deep-reaching roots, it is tolerant of drought and high temperature values.

Çiçekpınar Yoncası is an important plant in terms of being a significant source for pollination and flower honey production in beekeeping, increasing seed yield in the plant, protecting biodiversity, providing feed supply in animal husbandry, and helping the soil where it is grown become enriched with organic matter as it is a plant in the legume family.

The Çiçekpınar Yoncası plant consists of six main parts: root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed. The average number of seeds per fruit is 4. Flower colors are in shades and tones of purplish-red (between magenta and red) and violet-purple. Leaf shapes are ovate, long-ovate, or obtuse-ovate. The stipule tip is pointed, deeply serrated, large, and long; the plant habitus is semi-erect or erect.

When product yield and product quality are considered together, the most suitable period for protein yield is the 1/10 flowering stage. In Çiçekpınar Yoncası, the crude protein ratio is at least 15% and the dry matter ratio is at least 18%. If the mowing time is not delayed, unwanted lignification in the stem parts is kept at the lowest possible level.

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