Soil improver and erosion control
Berseem is an N-fixing legume. It may require rhizobium inoculation outside its native area (Hackney et al., 2007). As a winter crop it provides soil cover and prevents erosion. As a green manure, berseem intercropped with oats in a maize/soybean/oat + berseem rotation increased maize yield by 10% and returned 43 kg N/ha (Ghaffarzadeh, 1997).
Weed control
Berseem sown in mixture with oats or ryegrass smothers weeds during establishment, and regrows after cutting at the time the oats are harvested (Clark, 2008).