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The Evaluation of Alternative Fodder Crops under African Highland Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

Michael J. Potts  and
Evariste Biranguza
Michael J. Potts
Affiliation:
The International Potato Centre and Programme d'Amélioration de la Pomme de terre, Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi, Station de Gisozi, BP 75, Bujumbura, Burundi
Evariste Biranguza
Affiliation:
The International Potato Centre and Programme d'Amélioration de la Pomme de terre, Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi, Station de Gisozi, BP 75, Bujumbura, Burundi
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Summary

Four forage bassicas, kale, rape, turnips and swede, and fodder beet were evaluated for adaptation to tropical highland conditions using small-plot experiments and field observations. In a short cropping season turnips were best adapted with a mean yield of 22 t ha−1. The crop was quick to establish and gave good ground cover. Kale and swedes were better adapted to a long season and yielded more than perennial forage grasses or maize. Yield was related to the length of growing season, exceeding 100 t ha−1 by about 250 days. Kale and swedes established poorly on soils high in aluminium. Direct sunlight appeared to damage swede roots, causing secondary soft rots. Rape showed no advantage over kale. Fodder beet failed to establish satisfactorily in any of the experiments.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , January 1989 , pp. 99 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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References

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