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Brief but alarming reminder about the need for reintroducing ‘Greek hay’ (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) in Mediterranean agricultures

  • Notes on Neglected and Underutilized Crops
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Abstract

‘Greek hay’, fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), is a legume species native to the eastern Mediterranean. It is cultivated mostly for its grain used in traditional dishes, such as curry, and as medicaments in local traditional medicines. The genetic resources of fenugreek are endangered. The most common methods in developing advanced cultivars of fenugreek are recurrent or family selection. The local landraces of fenugreek have a potential for up to 20 t ha−1 of fresh forage and more than 1100 kg ha−1 of grain and may have tolerance to various forms of biotic stresses. Despite the fact that fenugreek originated in the Mediterranean basin, extraordinarily rich sources of wild populations and local landraces, this crop is neglected, underutilized and almost completely forgotten. The main goal of this short communication is to preserve this crop in the Mediterranean and adjacent regions and its reintroduction in local agricultures.

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Acknowledgments

Project TR-31024 of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.

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  1. Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Maksima Gorkog 30, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Aleksandar Mikić

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  1. Aleksandar Mikić
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Mikić, A. Brief but alarming reminder about the need for reintroducing ‘Greek hay’ (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) in Mediterranean agricultures. Genet Resour Crop Evol 62, 951–958 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-015-0260-4

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