Characterization of a collection of Aeschynomene histrix in subhumid Nigeria

A collection of 64 accessions of the South American pasture legume Aeschyno mene histrix Poiret was characterized in 1995 at Ibadan in south-west Niger ia in order to test the potential of the accessions as forage plants in sub humid areas and as a trap crop for the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica ( Del.) Benth. All accessions had a low biomass production during the first s weeks after sowing but soon variations in the collection became apparent. Morphologically, accessions could be classified as having prostrate, decumb ent, semi-erect and erect growth habit. The semi-erect to erect accessions grew vigorously and had high dry matter yields. The most frequent disease w as Rhizoctonia foliar blight, for which, in general, prostrate accessions h ad a higher severity. In contrast, plants with semi-erect to erect growth h abit were more susceptible to a wilting disease probably caused by Fusarium spp. With an average crude protein content of 16% and 48-h in sacco dry ma tter and protein digestibilities of c. 50%, fodder quality of 13-week-old p lants was similar to that of other tropical forage legumes. As a result of a laboratory experiment to test the potential of A. histrix to act as a tra p crop for Striga hermonthica, 13 accessions showing a significant influenc e on in vitro Striga hermonthica seed germination were identified. Twenty p romising accessions were selected for further evaluation. These accessions showed good biomass production and/or high tolerance to diseases and/or sig nificant influence on Striga hermonthica seed germination. Such material ha s the potential to contribute to both livestock-forage and improved fallow systems with the aim of increasing the sustainability of agricultural produ ction in West Africa.