Dry-season Legume Forages to Follow Paddy Rice in N.E. Thailand. I. Species Evaluation and Effectiveness of Native Rhizobium for Nitrogen Fixation

Abstract

SUMMARYA range of legumes was evaluated in North-east Thailand for dry season forage production on stored moisture following harvest of the paddy rice crop. Crotalaria juncea (sunnhemp) and Lablab purpureus (lablab) produced the best dry matter yields of 1950 and 2020 kg−1 ha respectively on a cultivated paddy field without further fertilizer. Stored moisture was adequate for these two but growth of other species was poor, especially on plots that received no prior cultivation. In pot experiments, sunnhemp did not respond to either nitrogen application or Rhizobium inoculation, indicating that native strains were effective for nitrogen fixation. Lablab responded to both treatments and gave a 55% dry matter response to inoculation with Rhizobium in the field.