Integration of Shade-Tolerant Forage Legumes Under Enset
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73 Fruits (6), 365–375 | ISSN 0248-1294 print, 1625-967X online | https://doi.org/10.17660/th2018/73.6.7 | © ISHS 2018 Original article – Thematic Issue [Ensete ventricosum westernIntegration Ethiopia of shade-tolerant forage legumes under enset (Welw.) Cheesman] plants in south- Z. Yemataw , K. Tawle , R. Kebede3 1 1 2 2 1 , M. Bolton and G. Blomme 23 The Southern Agricultural Research Institute [SARI], Areka, Ethiopia Bioversity International, P.O. Box 5689, c/o ILRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Independent consultant, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Summary Significance of this study Introduction – Mature enset plants (i.e., plants What is already known on this subject? in the latter stage of their growth cycle) are mainly • Mature enset plants (i.e., plants in the latter stage of grown in sole-cropping. In order to boost biomass production per unit area, the integration of shade-tol- erant or shade-loving plant species that provide food, Whattheir are growth the new cycle) findings? are mainly grown in sole-cropping. feed or biomass for mulch could be envisaged. Mate- • e.g., Macro- rials and methods – In this study, ten shade-tolerant tyloma axillare, Centrosema pubescens, Pueraria pha- forage legumes were evaluated for their growth and seoloides,…Various shade-tolerant) grow well as forage intercrops legumes in mature( enset biomass production when grown under mature enset plants in south-western Ethiopia. The forage legumes production. were established as intercrops at the onset of the fields, and contribute to whole farm biomass/feed rainy season (i.e., July) and planted in rows with en- What is the expected impact on horticulture? set, both on farm and on station, using 3 replications • per legume species. In addition, growth and biomass yield of legumes were assessed when grown as sole applicationEnhanced livestock of mulch production and manure. through additional crops. The ability of intercropped legume species to sources of feed. Enhanced soil fertility through the survive the long 6- to 7-month dry season was also as- sessed. Although rainfall levels during the dry season months do not suffice to sustain legume plant growth, gesting that farmers’ selection criteria go beyond no irrigation took place at the various trial sites. biomass production level. Farmers also indicated that Results and discussion – Some forage legumes (Mac- various shade-tolerant weed species produce signifi- rotyloma axillare, Centrosema pubescens, Pueraria cant amounts of biomass in mature enset fields, thus phaseoloides, Lablab purpureus, Chamaecrista rotun- providing additional options for biomass produc- difolia, Vicia villosa and Vigna unguiculata) produced tion under shade. Way forward – Further multi-loca- moderate to high amounts of above-ground biomass tion and multi-year on-farm evaluations of the most yield under intercropping conditions, and this espe- promising forage legume species and surveys should cially during the second/third consecutive legume be carried out to determine edible and high-yield- cropping seasons. For example, fresh legume biomass ing weed species currently growing in mature enset yields of 11 to 15 t ha-1 were obtained at the Areka in- fields. tercropping trials during the second legume cropping season. Fresh biomass yield of up to 22.9 t ha-1 was re- Keywords corded for C. pubescens under enset during the third consecutive cropping season at Areka. Some forage tolerance, enset, Ethiopia, integrated crop management, legumes that were able to survive the prolonged dry intercroppingabove-ground biomass, animal feeding, drought seasons (M. axillare, D. intortum, C. rotundifolia, C. pu- bescens, D. uncinatum and P. phaseoloides) grew vig- orously during the subsequent rainy seasons, due to Résumé the established roots and lower stem sections which survived the dry season. The forage legume M. axil- Ensete lare is very promising as it not only grew vigorously ventricosumIntégration de légumineuses fourragères tolé- in both the sole-cropped and intercropped fields, but rantes à l’ombre sous culture d’ensète [ it also survived the extended dry season and quickly re-sprouted at the onset of the rains. Feedback from Introduction (Welw.) – Les plantes Cheesman] matures dans(i.e., celles le sud- qui farmers in the Lemo and Angacha districts, where ouestse trouvent de l’Ethiopie. au dernier stade de leur cycle de crois- on-farm trials were conducted, indicated that some sance) sont principalement cultivées en monoculture. forage legumes, e.g., M. axillare and D. intortum, could Afin de stimuler la production de biomasse par unité be integrated into plots of mature enset plants, sug- de surface, il a été envisagé d’intégrer des espèces Volume 73 | Issue 6 | November-December 2018 365 Yemataw et al . | Integration of shade-tolerant forage legumes under enset plants in south-western Ethiopia végétales tolérantes à l’ombre ou aimant l’ombre sur plusieurs années, et des enquêtes devraient qui fournissent de la nourriture, des aliments pour être conduites pour déterminer les espèces d’adven- animaux ou de la biomasse pour le paillage. Matériel et tices comestibles à haut rendement qui poussent ac- méthodes – Dans cette étude, dix légumineuses four- tuellement dans des champs d’ensètes matures. ragères tolérantes à l’ombre ont été évaluées pour leur croissance et leur production de biomasse lors- Mots-clés qu’elles sont cultivées sous culture d’ensètes matures dans le sud-ouest de l’Ethiopie. Des légumineuses fourragères ont été établies comme cultures interca- alimentation animale, biomasse aérienne, culture laires en début de saison des pluies (i.e., en juillet) et associée, ensète, Ethiopie, gestion intégrée des cultures, ont été plantées en ligne avec l’ensète, à la ferme et en tolérance à la sécheresse station, en utilisant 3 répétitions par espèce de légu- mineuse. La croissance et le rendement en biomasse des légumineuses ont été évalués lorsqu’elles sont Introduction cultivées en monoculture. La capacité des espèces de légumineuses intercalées à survivre pendant la The total area covered by enset plants has more than longue saison sèche de 6 à 7 mois a également été quadrupled over the last 50 years from around 65,000 ha évaluée. Les niveaux de précipitations pendant les etin al.the 1960’s (Stanley, 1966) to around 300,000 ha in 2010 mois de saison sèche ne suffisent pas à soutenir la are(CSA, often 2011). intercropped Various enset with annualcropping crops systems (e.g., maize,exist (Brandt potato, croissance des légumineuses, mais aucune irrigation vegetables, 1997; and Abebe, herbs). 2005). Mature For ensetexample, (i.e., youngenset plantsenset plantsin the n’a eu lieu sur les différents sites d’essais. Résultats et discussion – Certaines légumineuses fourragères fee and multipurpose trees on smallholder farms. However, (Macrotyloma axillare, Centrosema pubescens, Puera- intercroppingfinal stages of maturetheir life enset cycle) with is often annual intercropped crops is rare. with cof- ria phaseoloides, Lablab purpureus, Chamaecrista ro- tundifolia, Vicia villosa et Vigna unguiculata) ont pro- duit des quantités modérées à élevées de biomasse temPlots (Zeberga allotted et al. to mature enset plants occupy on average aérienne dans des conditions de culture intercalaire, 20–30% of the total enset plots in enset-based cropping sys- en particulier pendant les deuxième et troisième sai- and feed crops do not, 2014). perform Due wellto the when high intercropped shade levels withpro- sons de culture de légumineuses consécutives. Par vided by the enset leaf canopy, commonly grown annual food exemple, des rendements de biomasse de 11 à 15 t ha-1 de légumineuses fraîches ont été obtenus lors andmature grown enset. under Most shade. farmers are unaware of other shade-tol- des essais de culture intercalaire à Areka au cours de erantThere feed isor afood high crops demand that couldfor animal potentially feed asbe mostintroduced enset la deuxième saison de culture de légumineuses. Une smallholder farms have at least one cow and/or bull. Crop production de biomasse fraîche allant jusqu’à 22,9 residues (e.g., maize) and weeds which grow in mature en t ha-1 a été enregistrée pour C. pubescens sous ensètes au cours de la troisième saison de culture consécutive et al. - à Areka. Certaines légumineuses fourragères aptes à set fields and other locations on the farmland are fed to the survivre à des saisons sèches prolongées (M. axillare, food,animals enset during is also the utilized rainy asseasons animal (Brandt feed. Fresh enset, 1997). leaves In D. intortum, C. rotundifolia, C. pubescens, D. uncinatum addition to its use as a source of carbohydrate-rich human et P. phaseoloides) se sont développées vigoureuse- ment pendant les saisons des pluies suivantes, grâce seasoncontribute i.e. to livestock diets in all regions where enset is à un système racinaire bien établi et des sections in- grown (Tolera, 1990; Fekadu, 1996), mainly during the dry férieures de tige qui ont survécu à la sécheresse. La , for a 7 to 8-month period (Yilma, 2001), or even légumineuse fourragère M. axillare est très promet- throughout the whole year (Karin and Alemu, 1995) in some teuse dans la mesure où non seulement elle a poussé agro-ecological areas, such as the highlands of Sidama and vigoureusement dans les champs en culture unique Gedeo. Occasionally, the whole enset plant is chopped up and ou en culture associée, mais elle a également survécu fed to livestock during the dry seasons (Tolera, 1990; Fekadu, à la saison sèche prolongée et a repoussé rapidement 1996; Desta and Oba, 2004). Enset corms and pseudostems au début des pluies. Conclusion – Dans leurs commen- were found to beet pooral. with respect to crude protein intake as taires, les agriculteurs des districts de Lemo et d’An- well as N retention when fed as sole diets (Fekadu and Ledin, gacha, où les essais à la ferme ont été menés, ont in- 1997; Nurfeta , 2008a). There is, hence, a need to supet- diqué que certaines légumineuses fourragères, telles al.plement a corm and pseudostem diet with protein-rich feeds, que M.