The Effect of Seed Rate Nitrogen Fertilizer And Cutting Time on Forage Yield and Quality Of Phillipesara (Vigna Trilobata Verdc.)

Abstract

Phillipesara (Vigna trilobata Verdc., syn. Phaseolus trilobus L.) is a useful forage legume and a rotational crop. In Sudan, phillipesara is grown as an annual summer forage crop in the irrigated agricultural schemes of the central region and Khartoum province along the Nile banks. The introduction of phillipesara to Sudan in large agricultural schemes like Gezira and Rahad met with certain constraints. These were the absence of an organized and intensive animal production system from the agricultural rotation of these schemes, and the difficulty of harvesting phillipesara seeds due to the shattering of the pods and seed loss before harvesting. In such schemes, the rearing of cattle, sheep, and goats depends primarily on nomadic grazing outside these schemes during the rainy season, and on crop residues and agro-industrial byproducts such as molasses, groundnut cake, cotton seed cake, and sorghum grain during the dry season. Recently, interest in growing irrigated phillipesara has increased due to prolonged drought and the establishment of many dairy and fattening farms in Khartoum province.