Abstract: The growth period, characteristics, yield of fresh plant, nutrient content of four varieties of Astragalus sinicus on pot-experiment were compared and analyzed. The results showed that Xiangzi No 3 and Xinyang Astragalus sinicus were more suitable to plant in double-cropping rice area than other varieties. The plant characters of Xiangzi No 3 such as leaf color, plant height, branch number, true leaf number, root length, number of rhizobia before winter were all better than the other varieties. There was no significant difference in stem diameter, number of branches and weight per plant among Yujiang large leaves, Yuanjiang specie and Xiangzi No 3 at the full-bloom stage, and these indexes were significantly higher compared with Xinyang Astragalus sinicust. The fresh grass yields of the four varieties were manifested included： Yujiang Large Leaves >Yuanjiang Species>Xiangzi No 3>Xinyang Astragalus sinicust at the full-bloom stage. Xiangzi No 3 had the highest total nitrogen and total potassium content among the four varieties. There was no significant difference in total phosphorus content among the four varieties.

Key words: Astragals sinicus, variety, green manure