Offered Papers Theme A: Efficient Production from Grassland
Description
Since the 1950s introductions of Stylosanthes scabra, S. hamata and S. guianensis from Australia, South America, the USA and Africa have continued in India. Although no cultivar has been released, selections of S. scabra, S guianensis and S. hamata are used in a range of environmental and commercial production systems. A large seed industry spanning >400 ha and run by >600 smallholder farmers producing 800t seeds/ year supports this usage (Rao et al., 2004). Stylo is mainly used in India for revegetation of wastelands where it reduces soil erosion and offers fodder for livestock (Pathak et al., 2004). Relatively small use is made as supplementary feed for dairy and breeding farms, as pastures in sheep and goat farms, in urban forestry and as a cover crop in horticulture and agroforestry. There are probably some 20,000 ha under silvipasture and horticulture. In mixed crop-livestock farming system stylo has been a saviour for smallholder farmers in some arid areas. The recent success of S. seabrana as a multipurpose legume and the suitability of stylo leaf meal as a replacement for expensive constituents in commercial poultry feed formulations may further accelerate uptake.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Stylo in India: Much More Than a Plant for the Revegetation of Wasteland
Since the 1950s introductions of Stylosanthes scabra, S. hamata and S. guianensis from Australia, South America, the USA and Africa have continued in India. Although no cultivar has been released, selections of S. scabra, S guianensis and S. hamata are used in a range of environmental and commercial production systems. A large seed industry spanning >400 ha and run by >600 smallholder farmers producing 800t seeds/ year supports this usage (Rao et al., 2004). Stylo is mainly used in India for revegetation of wastelands where it reduces soil erosion and offers fodder for livestock (Pathak et al., 2004). Relatively small use is made as supplementary feed for dairy and breeding farms, as pastures in sheep and goat farms, in urban forestry and as a cover crop in horticulture and agroforestry. There are probably some 20,000 ha under silvipasture and horticulture. In mixed crop-livestock farming system stylo has been a saviour for smallholder farmers in some arid areas. The recent success of S. seabrana as a multipurpose legume and the suitability of stylo leaf meal as a replacement for expensive constituents in commercial poultry feed formulations may further accelerate uptake.
