Information on this fodder crop, Melilotus officinalis, its biology and morphology, ecology, distribution in the former USSR, utilization and economic value. As compared to whiteflowered Melilotus albus, the yellowflowered is finer stemmed, matures earlier, and is more droughttolerant. It has a high nutritive value at the vegetative stage of growth when grazed, at the preflowering stage for silage, and at the earlyflowering stage for hay. Compared with red clover, yellow sweet clover has a lower N content and higher cell wall and lignin content in the stems but higher N contents in the leaves. The high coumarin content of sweet clover makes it less palatable to livestock than many other legumes. However, lowcoumarin varieties are now available. Bloat can be a problem when grazing sweet clover, although it is less common than with alfalfa or true clovers. Scouring may also occur, especially when growth is young and succulent. If the animals have access to dry roughage, both conditions will be reduced. Sweet clover is one of the best legumes for soil improvement. The widelybranched, deeplypenetrating tap roots open up the subsoil. The roots use nutrients not available to plants with shallow roots. When sweet clover plants decay, the nutrients in the roots are released for use by other crops.

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