Relative Palatability and Seasonal Agronomic Performance of Selected Pasture Legumes for Species Mixtures in Dry-Subhumid West Africa

Abstract

Relative palatability and some agronomic traits were studied for nine legumes including Aeschynomene histrix, Centrosema brasilianum (two accessions), Centrosema pascuorum, Chamaecrista rotundifolia, Stylosanthes guianensis (two accessions) and Stylosanthes hamata (two accessions). All species were consumed by cattle but the relative palatability varied according to season. Only the two S. guianensis accessions were positively selected throughout the year. A positive relationship was established between the ability to retain green leaves in the dry season and palatability. Once established, the two C. brasilianum accessions out-performed the other legumes in their ability to stay green and retain leaves in the dry season; related to the ability to retain green leaves under drought conditions, C. brasilianum ILRI 155 was among the most palatable legumes in the dry season. S. guianensis accessions had the highest dry matter (DM) yields and one of them (ILRI 15557) had the highest nutritive value. In contrast with earlier results in the same environment, C. rotundifolia and A. histrix performed poorly in terms of DM productivity. The implications of the agronomic characteristics of the legumes for the management of legume-based pastures in crop/livestock systems are discussed and the concept of legume±legume mixtures, composed of several compatible species, is advocated.

Forage Characteristics of Bahiagrass Pastures Overseeded with ‘Ubon’ Stylosanthes

“…Considering the HA used in this study, the selection was limited and cattle likely grazed a similar proportion of grass:stylo throughout the experimental units, which resulted in maintenance of the botanical composition of the pastures overseeded with stylo. It is reported in the literature that stylo may have decreased palatability before seed set (6); however, Peters et al (23) reported that Stylosanthes guianensis had greater palatability than other warm-season legumes and Schultze-Kraft & Keller-Grein (27) reported that Stylosanthes guianensis var. pauciflora has greater palatability than common Stylosanthes guianensis.…”

Liveweight gain of beef cattle in Brachiaria brizantha pastures and mixtures with Stylosanthes guianensis in the Brazilian savannah

“…During the rainy season, on the other hand, benefits were due to supply of N in the system and consequently the concentration of grass CP, also expected in mixed stylosanthes pastures. Stylosanthes guianensis may have increased palatability after flowering in the beginning of the dry season compared with other warm‐season legumes (Peters, Tarawali, & Schultze‐Kraft, 2000).…”

“…As a whole, the nutritive value declined in the dry season, and stylosanthes became more determinant to ADG as CP came close to 70 g/kg, the threshold where ruminal bacteria do not meet the minimum necessary to metabolize the ingested forage (Minson, 1990). In addition, there was probably greater selection of the less palatable stylosanthes in dry season (Lascano, 2001; Peters et al, 2000), considering the superior ADG for bulls in mixed pastures at this time of the year. In Coronel Pacheco, MG, Brazil, the contribution S. guianensis cv.…”

Identifying Areas for Field Conservation of Forages in Latin American Disturbed Environments

“…Results from work with legume mixtures show that, through compensation and complementation of individual legume species, mixtures are seasonally and temporally more stable than single stands. The complementarity of species signifies that, although some less competitive species may reduce in the sward over time, a stable mixture of several species in a sward can be formed (Wolf and Southwood 1980, Aiken et al 1991, 2000. Successful legumes have included Stylosanthes, tree legumes, and niche legumes such as forage Arachis species.…”

“…Traditionally, in situ conservation is seen as the maintenance of genetic resources in their natural habitats (Maxted et al 1997). Brush (1995, 2000 describes on-farm conservation mainly for land races as a subset of in situ conservation. In this paper, we concentrate on the field conservation of forages that could also be considered a subset of in situ conservation.…”