Planting from vegetative material - cgiar

Take Note
18
The growth form and life span of forages affects how
they can be grown and used on farms. For example, short
stoloniferous grasses and legumes are particularly well
suited to grazing and erosion control. Tall, upright grasses
are easy to cut and can be grown in hedgerows. Long-lived
tree legumes are ideal for living fences. The ways of
growing different types of forages on farms are described
in the section ‘Where can forages be grown on farms’.
Why do we need both grasses
and legumes?
Grasses give higher yields
Grasses produce more biomass than legumes and are the
main feed for ruminant livestock (see Table below). Yields
of grasses range from 400 – 2,000 kg of fresh, green feed
for every 100 m 2 per year depending mainly on soil fertility
and rainfall distribution.
Dry matter (DM) yields of forage are approximately
20-25% of the fresh, green feed.
Soil fertility level
low fertility
medium fertility
high fertility
Grasses give higher yields than legumes.
Grasses
Legumes
(kg of green feed per 100 m 2 per year)
200 – 400
400 – 1000
1000 – 2000
100 – 200
200 – 300
300 – 600