Dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid West Africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control

The productivity and nutritive value of Chamaecrista rotundifolia cWynn, Centrosema pascuorum cCavalcade, Stylosanthes guianensis cPucallpa and S. hamata cv Verano as affected by single superphosphate fertilisation (SSP) and weed control were measured during the dry season in subhumid Nigeria. Wynn,...

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Main Authors: Peters, Michael, Tarawali, Shirley A., Alkamper, J.
Published: 1997
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/27810
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author Peters, Michael
Tarawali, Shirley A.
Alkamper, J.
author_browse Alkamper, J.
Peters, Michael
Tarawali, Shirley A.
author_facet Peters, Michael
Tarawali, Shirley A.
Alkamper, J.
author_sort Peters, Michael
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The productivity and nutritive value of Chamaecrista rotundifolia cWynn, Centrosema pascuorum cCavalcade, Stylosanthes guianensis cPucallpa and S. hamata cv Verano as affected by single superphosphate fertilisation (SSP) and weed control were measured during the dry season in subhumid Nigeria. Wynn, when growing in competition with the native vegetation, had the highest dry matter yields. During the dry season, legume yields were more stable than those of the associated grasses and herbs. Fertilisation with SSP at low levels of available soil phosphorus and herbs did not respond to the fertiliser applied. The nutritive value of all legume species was low for most of the dry season, with crude protein concentrations, in vitro dry matter digestibility, and phosphorus concentrations ranging between 5-7 percent, 40-50 percent and 0.02-0.05 percent, respectively. The decline of nutritive value during the dry season was largely a function of changes in leaf/stem/litter proportions. It is suggested that drought tolerance and capacity to retain leaf should receive more attention when evaluating forage species to be used in the dry season. Despite these limitations, Wynn has potential to complement the widely used Stylosanthes hamata cVerano in drier subhumid West Africa. The other species tested could be successfully used in legume mixtures.
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spelling CGSpace278102025-11-04T16:56:37Z Dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid West Africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control Peters, Michael Tarawali, Shirley A. Alkamper, J. The productivity and nutritive value of Chamaecrista rotundifolia cWynn, Centrosema pascuorum cCavalcade, Stylosanthes guianensis cPucallpa and S. hamata cv Verano as affected by single superphosphate fertilisation (SSP) and weed control were measured during the dry season in subhumid Nigeria. Wynn, when growing in competition with the native vegetation, had the highest dry matter yields. During the dry season, legume yields were more stable than those of the associated grasses and herbs. Fertilisation with SSP at low levels of available soil phosphorus and herbs did not respond to the fertiliser applied. The nutritive value of all legume species was low for most of the dry season, with crude protein concentrations, in vitro dry matter digestibility, and phosphorus concentrations ranging between 5-7 percent, 40-50 percent and 0.02-0.05 percent, respectively. The decline of nutritive value during the dry season was largely a function of changes in leaf/stem/litter proportions. It is suggested that drought tolerance and capacity to retain leaf should receive more attention when evaluating forage species to be used in the dry season. Despite these limitations, Wynn has potential to complement the widely used Stylosanthes hamata cVerano in drier subhumid West Africa. The other species tested could be successfully used in legume mixtures. 1997 2013-04-03T11:37:59Z 2013-04-03T11:37:59Z https://hdl.handle.net/10568/27810 Open Access application/pdf Tropical Grasslands;31(3): 201-213
spellingShingle Peters, Michael
Tarawali, Shirley A.
Alkamper, J.
Dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid West Africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control
title Dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid West Africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control
title_full Dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid West Africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control
title_fullStr Dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid West Africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control
title_full_unstemmed Dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid West Africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control
title_short Dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid West Africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control
title_sort dry season performance of four tropical pasture legumes in subhumid west africa as influenced by superphosphate application and weed control
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/27810
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AT tarawalishirleya dryseasonperformanceoffourtropicalpasturelegumesinsubhumidwestafricaasinfluencedbysuperphosphateapplicationandweedcontrol
AT alkamperj dryseasonperformanceoffourtropicalpasturelegumesinsubhumidwestafricaasinfluencedbysuperphosphateapplicationandweedcontrol