Distribution and biology of common vetch in the UK

Common vetch is a broad-leaved weed that is found in grassy margin. Find out how to identify and control it.

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) was once grown as a cultivated plant. It is found in grassy field margins, but may also be seen in arable crops, sometimes as cultivated forms where vetches form part of the cropping rotation. Common vetch usually germinates in autumn and overwinters; more rarely it is a summer annual. Undisturbed plants may be biennial. It is often seen in spring-sown crops where it can interfere with harvesting and seed can contaminate grain.

• It has value to biodiversity

A scrambling dicotyledon, the stems grow to 20–120 cm in length. The leaves are divided into 3–8 pairs of oval leaflets and end in a tendril. The flowers are like those of a pea and occur in the last few leaf axils.

Young plant: The first true leaves are long and narrow with no leaflets.

Although it is widely found in lowland areas in most of the British Isles, in Ireland it is mainly confined to the east coast.

It prefers dry and sandy soils.

• Seed longevity: >5 years
• Seed weight: 100 mg
• Seeds/flower: 4–12

Seedlings can be harrowed out, but once established it is not readily controlled except with hoeing.

For advice on herbicides, please speak with your agronomist or adviser.

When was this information last updated?

This page is based on content from the encyclopaedia of arable weeds publication. Since it was first released in 2008, the publication has been redesigned several times but not revised. However, it remains a good foundation for general information on the distribution and biology of weeds.