苜蓿作为水稻的前茬种植,耕翻在田里,则水稻就能增产的事情,在日本从很早以前就已是众所皆知的了。美国密西根州立大学园艺学部里斯博士的小组,将苜蓿的茎、叶切细,埋在稻、蕃茄、玉米等作物的幼苗二边,实验的结果,出现了超出预期的大增产。例如每公顷用117公斤的苜蓿,可以增产10～40％。进一步深入的试验是在温室内进行的。结果了解到只要极少量的苜蓿就有显著的促进生长的作用。正当里斯博士在学校进行研究的时候,学校的一年级学生弄错了 Alfalfa, as a former crop of rice, plowed into the field, rice would be able to increase production, a long time ago in Japan is well known. Dr. Riss’s team from the Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, USA, cut the stems and leaves of alfalfa into two parts on the seedlings of crops such as rice, tomatoes and corn. As a result of the experiment, the yield exceeded expectations. For example, 117 kilograms of alfalfa per hectare can increase 10 to 40%. Further in-depth testing is carried out in the greenhouse. The result showed that there was a significant growth-promoting effect with a very small amount of alfalfa. Just as Dr. Rees was researching at school, the first-year school students made a mistake