| DESCRIPTION: Prostrate herbaceous legume with reddish trailing stems reaching up to 50 cm in length. Leaves trifoliolate, leaflets 0.8-4.5 cm long, 0.6-4 cm wide. Inflorescence a few-flowered raceme, corolla yellow, 5-7 mm long. Pods cylindrical, 1.5-5 cm long. USE: Used as a short-term very palatable pasture and green manure crop. Allowed to grow for 45-50 days during the fallow season before it is incorporated into the soil. Sometimes, the green manure is grazed, and allowed to regrow before being incorporated. Pods are eaten as a vegetable, and seeds are cooked. GROWING PERIOD: Annual (occasionally perennial). COMMON NAMES: African gram. FURTHER INF: Native of tropical south-eastern Asia from 24ºN in India to 9ºS in Indonesia at elevations between sea level and 700 m. Occurs in grassland, on road verges, irrigated land, drain edges and banks of irrigation channels. Found in areas with an annual rainfall of (520-) 700-900 (-1440) mm, with a 5-7 month dry season and with average annual temperatures between 25-27°C. It is found on well to poorly drained, alkaline, dark, cracking clay soils, but also on sandy and loamy soils of similar reaction (pH 6.5-9). Moderately tolerant of salinity, producing 50% maximum growth in soil with electrical conductivity of 9.7 dS/m. DM yields of 3 t/ha/year are achievable, but may be considerably less. |