Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T02:28:06.507Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Herbage yields of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) accessions in a humid tropical environment as affected by pruning management

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. Cobbina
J. Cobbina
Affiliation:
Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Rural Forestry Section, PO Box 63, UST, Kumasi, Ghana
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Twelve accessions of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Millsp.) were grown on an Alfisol in a humid ecozone in Nigeria in 1989. At 4 and 8 months after planting (MAP), the primary growth was cut to determine the effect of age at first pruning on stump survival and coppice regrowth, and also on total herbage yield in a 12-month pruning cycle. It was clear that a height of 3 m or more is adequate for pigeonpea to receive its first cut with only 10% stool mortalities. Cutting the primary shoot at 8 MAP (in the dry season) ensured greater stump survival and also stimulated rapid coppice shoot regrowth, indicating the advantage of coppicing in the dry season and also at maturity. The total leaf and wood dry matter (DM) production in a 12-month cycle is greatest if the primary shoot was first cut at 8 MAP. This suggests that allowing the trees to become established is beneficial in the pruning management of pigeonpea. Accessions 11563 and 11575 have the ability to produce 7 t/ha of leaf DM from two prunings when first cut at 8 MAP, and significantly outperformed the local variety. The study revealed that pigeonpea does not coppice well and its biomass yields are much lower than that of Leucaena leucocephala.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 125 , Issue 2 , October 1995 , pp. 227 - 232
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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

Allen, O. N. & Allen, E. K. (1981). The Leguminosae: A Source Book of Characteristics, Uses, and Nodulation. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewbaker, J. L. (1987). Significant nitrogen fixing trees in agroforestry systems. In Agroforestry: Realities, Possibilities and Potentials (Ed. Gholz, H. L.), pp. 31–45. Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.Google Scholar
Clements, R. J., Williams, R. J., Grof, B. & Hacker, J. B. (1983). Centrosema. In The Role of Centrosema, Desmodium and Stylosanthes in Improving Tropical Pastures (Eds Burt, R. L., Rotar, P. P., Walker, J. L. & Silvey, J. L.), pp. 69–96. Boulder: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Juo, A. S. R. (1979). Selected Methods for Soil and Plant Analysis. Manual Series No. 1. Ibadan, Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.Google Scholar
Kleinjans, J. K. (1984). Mineral composition of Leucaena leucocephala foliage. Leucaena Research Reports 5, 82–83.Google Scholar
Moormann, F. R., Lal, R. & Juo, A. S. R. (1975). The Soils of IITA. Technical Bulletin no. 3. Ibadan, Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.Google Scholar
Ong, C. K. & Daniel, J. N. (1990). Pigeonpea. Traditional crop sparks new interest as a multipurpose tree. Agroforestry Today 2 (2), 4–7.Google Scholar
Pawlick, T. (1989). Coppice with care. Agroforestry Today 1 (1), 15–17.Google Scholar
Sharma, D., Saxena, K. B. & Green, J. M. (1978). Potential of ratooning in pigeonpea. Field Crops Research 1, 165–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheldrake, A. R. & Narayanan, A. (1979). Growth, development and nutrient uptake in pigeonpeas (Cajanus cajari). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 92, 513–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whiteman, P. C. & Norton, B. W. (1981). Alternative uses for pigeonpea. In Proceedings of an International Workshop on Pigeonpeas, Volume 1, pp. 365–377. Hyderabad: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.Google Scholar
Whiteman, P. C., Byth, D. E. & Wallis, E. S. (1985). Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan [L.] Millsp.). In Grain Legume Crops (Eds Summerfield, R. J. & Roberts, E. H.), pp. 658–698. London: Collins.Google Scholar