Forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid West Africa. I. Establishment, herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage

A short-term improved fallow system based on forage legumes is suggested for crop-livestock farming systems in subhumid West Africa targeted to enhance soil fertility and dry season feed for cattle. At two sites, 13 legume species were compared with the natural fallow vegetation, the nutritive value...

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Main Authors: Muhr, L., Tarawali, Shirley A., Peters, Michael, Schultze-Kraft, Rainer
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/27816
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author Muhr, L.
Tarawali, Shirley A.
Peters, Michael
Schultze-Kraft, Rainer
author_browse Muhr, L.
Peters, Michael
Schultze-Kraft, Rainer
Tarawali, Shirley A.
author_facet Muhr, L.
Tarawali, Shirley A.
Peters, Michael
Schultze-Kraft, Rainer
author_sort Muhr, L.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description A short-term improved fallow system based on forage legumes is suggested for crop-livestock farming systems in subhumid West Africa targeted to enhance soil fertility and dry season feed for cattle. At two sites, 13 legume species were compared with the natural fallow vegetation, the nutritive value of which typically fails to meet cattle requirements during the dry season. Establishment, dry matter yield and nutritive value of leguminous herbage in the year of establishment were evaluated as well as regeneration of legumes after a cropping phase. Only a few species yielded more dry season herbage than the natural fallow, but most had considerably higher nitrogen concentrations (0.6-2.4 percent of dry matter) and in sacco dry matter digestibility (19-65 percent) than the natural fallow vegetation with 0.7-1.0 percent N and 28-30 percent DMD. In the mid dry season, Stylosanthes guianensis, Centrosema pubescens and Aeschynomene histrix had the highest yields of 10 t/ha DM of standing herbage plus shed leaves at one of the sites. the same species also showed good self-regeneration after a maize crop but were surpassed by other species with respect to nitrogen concentration and digestibility. The observed properties of the forage legumes are discussed with respect to their relative importance for the targeted fallow system, and management alternatives are considered.
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spelling CGSpace278162025-11-12T04:28:34Z Forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid West Africa. I. Establishment, herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage Muhr, L. Tarawali, Shirley A. Peters, Michael Schultze-Kraft, Rainer feed legumes agropastoral systems subhumid zones herbage yield nutritive value dry season digestibility drought resistance A short-term improved fallow system based on forage legumes is suggested for crop-livestock farming systems in subhumid West Africa targeted to enhance soil fertility and dry season feed for cattle. At two sites, 13 legume species were compared with the natural fallow vegetation, the nutritive value of which typically fails to meet cattle requirements during the dry season. Establishment, dry matter yield and nutritive value of leguminous herbage in the year of establishment were evaluated as well as regeneration of legumes after a cropping phase. Only a few species yielded more dry season herbage than the natural fallow, but most had considerably higher nitrogen concentrations (0.6-2.4 percent of dry matter) and in sacco dry matter digestibility (19-65 percent) than the natural fallow vegetation with 0.7-1.0 percent N and 28-30 percent DMD. In the mid dry season, Stylosanthes guianensis, Centrosema pubescens and Aeschynomene histrix had the highest yields of 10 t/ha DM of standing herbage plus shed leaves at one of the sites. the same species also showed good self-regeneration after a maize crop but were surpassed by other species with respect to nitrogen concentration and digestibility. The observed properties of the forage legumes are discussed with respect to their relative importance for the targeted fallow system, and management alternatives are considered. 1999 2013-04-03T11:38:00Z 2013-04-03T11:38:00Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/27816 en Open Access application/pdf Tropical Grasslands;33(4): 245-256
spellingShingle feed legumes
agropastoral systems
subhumid zones
herbage yield
nutritive value
dry season
digestibility
drought resistance
Muhr, L.
Tarawali, Shirley A.
Peters, Michael
Schultze-Kraft, Rainer
Forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid West Africa. I. Establishment, herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage
title Forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid West Africa. I. Establishment, herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage
title_full Forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid West Africa. I. Establishment, herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage
title_fullStr Forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid West Africa. I. Establishment, herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage
title_full_unstemmed Forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid West Africa. I. Establishment, herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage
title_short Forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid West Africa. I. Establishment, herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage
title_sort forage legumes for improved fallows in agropastoral systems of subhumid west africa i establishment herbage yield and nutritive value of legumes as dry season forage
topic feed legumes
agropastoral systems
subhumid zones
herbage yield
nutritive value
dry season
digestibility
drought resistance
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/27816
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