AGRONOMIC EVALUATION OF TROPICAL FORAGE LEGUMES IN DIFFERENT AGROECOSYSTEMS IN PUERTO RICO

Luis E. Tergas, Rafael Ramos Santana, Milton Martinez, Alvaro Arias Pedraza and Antonio Sotomayor Rios

No 259909, 25th Annual Meeting, July 1-6, 1989, Gosier, Guadeloupe from Caribbean Food Crops Society

Abstract: In Puerto Rico there are approximately 342,000 ha of pastures and rangelands. Fouragroecosystems have been identified based on topography, rainfall distribution and soil types. Forages legumes production and pasture management are vital for milk and beef production to reduce importation of concentrated feed. Stylosanthes guianensis and Centrosema spp. have produced over 13.0 and 5.7 t/ha of dry matter, respectively, during establishment in the humid mountain region. Dry matter yields of Leucaena have been over 15 t/ha/yr during the second year of evaluation and Neonotonia wihgtiihave produced over 2.0 t/ha during establishment in the semiarid southern coast. These forage legumes are recommended for evaluation of persitence under grazing and for animal production in the appropiate agroecosystems. Other tropical forage legumes adapted to the Caribbean Basin should be evaluated in the different agroecosystems in Puerto-Rico. ----- Les prairies et pâturage de Porto-Rico couvrent environ 342,000 ha. La topographie, la distribution des pluies et les types de sols permettent de distinguer quatre agroécosystèmes. La production des légumineuses fourragères et l'exploitation des prairies sont essentielles pour les productions de Ιε;* et de viande bovine, car elles permettent de réduire l'importation d'aliments concentrés. Dans la région montagneuse humide, les productions de matière sèche de Stylosanthesguianensisetde Centrosema spp. ont été respectivement de 13 et de 5,7 t/ha, durant la phase d'implantation. Sur la côte Sud semi-aride, les rendements en matière sèche de Leucaena on:: été supérieurs à 15 t/ha/an pour la seconde année d'évaluation, et Neonotonia wightii a produit plus de 2 t/ha durant sa phase d'établissement. Ces légumineuses fourragères sont recommandées pourévaluer leur persistance sous pâturage et pour l'alimentation animale dans les agroécosystèmes correspondants. D'autres espèces de légumineuses fourragères, adaptées aux conditions du Bassin Caraïbe, devraient être testées dans les différents agroécosystèmes de Porto-Rico.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Livestock Production/Industries; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 9
Date: 1989-07-01
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:cfcs89:259909

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.259909

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