An Alfalfa That Loves the Cold

By Alan Humphries, Lead Partner, CWR Alfalfa Pre-breeding Project, and Luis Salazar, Crop Trust

Zhongcao No. 3. When you first hear that name, you can be forgiven for thinking it’s an expensive perfume. But actually, it’s a new Chinese variety of alfalfa.

It stands out for more than just its unusual moniker. This variety has wild cousins in its immediate ancestry that make it more tolerant to extreme cold and drought. It’s the kind of crop that plant breeders like me dream about.

I saw  Zhongcao No. 3 for myself when I traveled to Inner Mongolia and caught up with the old friend that brought this exciting alfalfa variety to life.

Read the full article on the Crop Trust website …