The Effects of Sowing Date on the Growth and Nutritive Value of Lablab purpureus

Abstract

In two similar experiments, Lablab purpureus was sown at dierent dates in July and August to evaluate the eects of sowing date on the yield and nutritive value of the plant and shed leaves. On each occasion, an interim harvest was performed on half of the plants sown at each date and the regrowth recorded. The interim harvest reduced the total yield, and in particular that of shed leaves. In one of the two experiments, late sowing resulted in a considerable reduction in yield, increased crude protein and reduced modi®ed acid-detergent ®bre concentrations. Ash concentrations were higher in plants sown later and their shed leaves. Sodium concentrations were inadequate for ruminants and, like phosphorus concentrations, tended to decrease with later sowing. However, both calcium and magnesium concentrations increased with later sowing and were sucient for ruminant production. Potassium concentrations were high and were little aected by sowing date. It is concluded that both an interim harvest and late sowing are disadvantageous when lablab is grown for ruminant livestock, the former because of yield reduction and the latter because of yield reduction, increases in ash concentration and reductions in sodium and phosphorus concentrations.

Lablab purpureus—A Crop Lost for Africa?

“…Almost all of these African initiatives have included and continue to include one popular late-maturing forage cultivar, cv. Rongai (Makembe and Ndlovu 1996; Fischler and Wortmann 1999; Haque and Lupwayi 2000; Wortmann et al 2000; Shehu et al 2001; Mureithi et al 2003; Amodu et al 2004; Nworgu and Ajayi 2005; Nyambati et al 2006; Abeke et al 2007; Ojiem et al 2007; Abeke et al 2008; Mubiru and Coyne 2009) and, as a result, the potential role of the species as a pulse or vegetable in Africa is likely to be severely underestimated. Only recent work at ILRI in Ethiopia and CSIRO in Australia (Pengelly and Maass 2001) and, subsequently, in southern Africa (Whitbread and Pengelly 2004) explored a much larger range of accessions for feed and food and identified germplasm, which was well adapted to drier climates and crop use.…”

Forage Yield and Quality of Lablab (Lablab purpureus L. Sweet) Intercropped With Maize (Zea mays L.) With Flooded Irrigation System in the Semi-Arid Zone of Nigeria

“…However, intercropping vegetable and other grain crops such as maize with lablab, or any other forage legume such as cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) or groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) under irrigation is not a common practice among the smallholder farmers in this part of Nigeria. Lablab is one of the few neglected crops that is not cultivated by farmers in Nigeria in both rainy and dry seasons, even though some studies in Nigeria highlighted its potentials for crop-livestock integration (Shehu et al, 2001a(Shehu et al, , 2001b(Shehu et al, , 2001cAmodu et al, 2003;Amodu et al, 2004;Nworgu & Ajayi, 2005). Studies have shown that when ruminant animals were fed with fibrous crop residues and forage materials such as maize stover supplemented with lablab forage, their performance generally improved (Kabirizi et al, 2007).…”

The Effects of Timing of an Interim Harvest on the Yield and Composition of Lablab purpureus

“…At interim and final harvests, after weighing the fresh crops, representative samples of each fraction were taken for analysis of dry matter concentration by drying at 80 °C for 48 h in a forced‐draught oven. Duplicate samples from each harvest were analysed for chemical composition, details of which are given in Shehu et al. (2001).…”

“…In the arid conditions of the Sahelian zone of sub‐Saharan Africa, lablab plants can be severely depleted by an interim harvest (Dalzell et al. 1997, Shehu et al. 2001).…”