Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T15:38:53.762Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The potential contribution of selected forage legume pastures to cereal production in crop-livestock farming systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

S. A. Tarawali  and
M. Peters
S. A. Tarawali*
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute, Subhumid Research Site, PMB 2248, Kaduna, Nigeria
M. Peters
Affiliation:
University of Hohenheim(380), D-70593, Stuttgart, Germany
*
*Current and correspondence address: International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), IITA/Ibadan, c/o Messrs L. W. Lambourn & Co, Carolyn House, 26 Dingwall Road, Croydon, Surrey, CR9 3EE, UK.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

SUMMARY

The potential of 3-year-old grazed pastures of Stylosanthes hamata, Chamaecrista rotundifolia and Centrosema pascuorum to contribute to subsequent maize production was investigated in subhumid Nigeria in 1993. All three legume pastures had the ability to give better maize grain yields than native pasture but this was significant only for Stylosanthes hamata and Chamaecrista rotundifolia. For the legume species, maximum yield of maize per kg of N applied was attained at 60 kgN/ha. The subsequent yields of maize could be related to the legume species used, pasture management and the length of the fallow period. Centrosema pascuorum behaved as an annual, and as such there was little legume present after 3 years; crop yield was therefore relatively low. Nevertheless, this species could be useful in 1-year fallow/pasture situations. Maize cropping was economically viable for legume plots only with 60 or 120 kgN/ha and not for native pasture. There were no significant differences in the time required to till or to weed legume pastures as compared with native pasture. Forage legume pastures could also have a positive effect on maize residue yields which represent a fodder resource in addition to the herbage understorey remaining after cropping, the quality of which could be enhanced by the presence of the forage legumes. The use of forage legumes for the promotion of both crop and livestock production in sustainable agricultural systems is discussed. The results of the study are used to highlight the importance of selecting the appropriate legume species, pasture management practices and duration of fallow period in relation to the prevailing farming system to maximize benefits from the legumes.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 127 , Issue 2 , September 1996 , pp. 175 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Food and Agriculture Organization (1995). World Agriculture: Towards 2010. Rome: FAO and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Google Scholar
Hargreaves, J. N. G. & Kerr, J. D. (1992). BOTANALa-a comprehensive sampling and computing procedure for estimating pasture yields and composition. 2. Computational package. Tropical Agronomy Technical Memorandum No.79. CSIRO Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.Google Scholar
International Livestock Centre for Africa (1991). Animal Programme Report, 1990. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: ILCA.Google Scholar
International Livestock Centre for Africa (1994). Improving Livestock Production in Africa: Evolution of ILCA's Programme 1974–1994. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: ILCA.Google Scholar
Jones, R. K., Dalgliesh, N. P., Dimes, J. P. & McCown, R. L. (1991). Sustaining multiple production systems 4. Ley pastures in crop-livestock systems in the semi-arid tropics. Tropical Grasslands 25, 189–196.Google Scholar
MacColl, D. (1989). Studies on maize (Zea mays) at Bunda, Malawi. I. Yield in relation to rainfall. Experimental Agriculture 25, 357–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacColl, D. (1990). Studies on maize (Zea mays) at Bunda, Malawi. III. Yield in rotations with pasture legumes. Experimental Agriculture 26, 263–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mclntire, J., Bourzat, D. & Plngali, P. (1992). Crop-Livestock Interaction in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, USA: World Bank.Google Scholar
Mohamed-Saleem, M. A. & Fisher, M. J. (1993). Role of ley farming in crop rotations in the tropics. In Proceedings of the XVII International Grassland Congress, Australia, 1993, pp. 2179–2187.Google Scholar
Mohamed-Saleem, M. A. & Otsyina, R. M. (1986). Grain yields of maize and the nitrogen contribution following Stylosanthes pasture in the Nigerian subhumid zone. Experimental Agriculture 22, 207–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Otsyina, R. M., von Kaufmann, R., Mohamed-Saleem, M. A. & Suleiman, H. (1987). Manual on Fodder Bank Establishment and Management. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: International Livestock Centre for Africa.Google Scholar
Peters, M. (1992). Evaluation of tropical pasture legumes for fodder banks in subhumid Nigeria. PhD thesis, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.Google Scholar
Peters, M., Tarawali, S. A. & Alkämper, J. (1994a). Evaluation of tropical pasture legumes for fodder banks in subhumid Nigeria. 1. Accessions of Centrosema brasilianum, C. pascuorum, Chamaecrista rotundifolia and Stylosanthes hamata. Tropical Grasslands 28, 65–73.Google Scholar
Peters, M., Tarawali, S. A. & Alkämper, J. (1994b). Evaluation of tropical pasture legumes for fodder banks in subhumid Nigeria. 2. Accessions of Aeschynomene histrix, Centrosema acutifolium, C. pascuorum, Stylosanthes guianensis and S. hamata. Tropical Grasslands 28, 74–79.Google Scholar
Powell, J. M. (1984). Assessment of dry-matter yield from grain yield in the West African Savannah Zone. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 103, 695–698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powell, J. M. & Mohamed-Saleem, M. A. (1987). Nitrogen and phosphorus transfers in a crop-livestock system in West Africa. Agricultural Systems 25, 261–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prinz, D. (1986). Increasing the productivity of smallholder farming systems by introduction of planted fallows. Plant Research and Development 24, 31–56.Google Scholar
Tarawali, G. (1991 a). The residual effect of Stylosanthes fodder banks on maize yield at several locations in Nigeria. Tropical Grasslands 25, 26–31.Google Scholar
Tarawali, G. & Pamo, E. T. (1992). A case for on-farm trials of fodder banks on the Adamawa Plateau in Cameroon. Experimental Agriculture 28, 229–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarawali, G., Mohamed-Saleem, M. A. & von Kaufmann, R. (1987). Comparison of labour requirements for cropping maize on land previously used for Stylosanthes fodder banks and on adjacent fallows in the subhumid zone of Nigeria. ILCA Bulletin 26, 36–39.Google Scholar
Tarawali, G., Mohamed-Saleem, M. A. & Chionuma, P.C. (1995). The effect of frequency of defoliation of the productivity of selected forage legumes (Stylosanthes hamata, Stylosanthes capitata and Centrosema pascuorum) in the sub-humid zone of Nigeria. Experimental Agriculture 31, 13–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarawali, S. A. (1991 b). Preliminary agronomic evaluation of forage legumes for subhumid West Africa. Tropical Agriculture (Trinidad) 68, 88–94.Google Scholar
Tarawali, S. A. (1994). Evaluating selected forage legumes for livestock and crop production in the subhumid zone of Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 123, 55–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarawali, S. A. (1995). Evaluation of Stylosanthes hamata (L.) Taub. accessions for livestock and crop enterprises in subhumid Nigeria. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 35, 375–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tothill, J. C, Hargreaves, J. N. G., Jones, R. M. & McDonald, C. K. (1992). BOTANAL - a comprehensive sampling and computing procedure for estimating pasture yields and composition. 1. Field Sampling. Tropical Agronomy Technical Memorandum No. 78. CSIRO Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures, St. Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.Google Scholar
Weber, G., Elemo, K., Award, A., Lagoke, S. T. O. & Oikeh, S. (1995). Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. in the Cropping Systems of the Northern Guinea Savanna. Resource and Crop Management Division Monograph No. 19. Ibadan, Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.Google Scholar