P. BARNES and A. ADDO-KWAFO

Animal Research Institute, C.S.I.R, Achimota, Ghana

Abstract

A number of herbaceous legumes, shrub legumes and grasses developed by CIAT, Colombia were evaluated for dry matter yields at 3-week and 6-week cutting intervals in the wet and dry seasons, respectively, at a subhumid site in southern Ghana.
In the herbaceous legumes, there were high dry matter yields in both seasons in Centrosema acutifolium, Centrosema macrocarpum, Centrosema pubescens, Stylosanthes capitata and Stylosanthes guianensis with the highest wet season yields greater than 2 t/ha DM.
Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea) showed very high dry matter yields in both wet and dry seasons with yields exceeding 6 t/ha in the dry season.
Brachiaria brizantha cvv. La Libertad and Marandu and Panicum maximum accessions CIAT 673 and T58 were the best entries in herbage productivity in two seasons yielding in excess of 3 t/ha.
The highest yielding accessions in the three forage categories will be evaluated further in large plots.