Herbage Yield and Proximate Composition of Five Forage Legumes in Benin City, Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Although forage legumes possess high quality herbage for ruminant feeding and increase soil fertility when incorporated, they may differ significantly in yields and quality. A field experiment conducted at the Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Benin City; evaluated the herbage yields and proximate composition of five (5) forage legumes (Mucuna pruriens, Centrosema pascuorum, Lablab purpureus, Stylosanthes guianensis and Arachis hypogaea). Legumes constituted five treatments fitted into a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Data were collected on fresh and dry herbage weights, including proximate composition (crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract, ash and nitrogen free extract) at 14 weeks after sowing. Arachis hypogaea produced the significantly heaviest fresh herbage yield of 0.17 t ha-1 followed by Lablab purpureus with 0.12 t ha-1. However, both legumes recorded similar dry herbage yield (0. 05 t ha-1). The significantly highest crude protein (22.89%), crude fibre (17.37%) and nitrogen free extract (54.51%) concentrations were obtained from Mucuna pruriens. Stylosanthes guianensis yielded the highest (p ≤ 0.05) ether extract (2.37%) while Lablab purpureus furnished the highest (p ≤ 0.05) ash (5.23%) concentrations. The relatively high herbage and crude protein yields produced by the legumes warrant their utilization for forage, fodder and soil improvement in the humid rainforest zone of Nigeria.