Preliminary Trials of Grasses and Legumes under Grazing

Abstract

Since the Grassland Research Station was founded at Kitale in 1950, many hundreds of grasses and legumes have been studied with a view to selecting the best for possible future introduction into agricultural use. Observations on some of these have already been made by Bogdan (1955) and Strange (1955), and the work which is summarized here is to some extent a sequel to that described in these two papers. Kitale lies 10 N. of the Equator north-east from Lake Victoria at an altitude of 6,200 ft. The mean rainfall is 46 in., falling mainly between April and October, with a drought period (hot season) from December to March. The soil is a friable sandy loam of rather low fertility which is derived from the Basement Complex. It varies in colour from red to grey and generally has a pH of between 5 and 6.