Annual Legumes as an Alternative for Animal Feeding in Cuba

Studies conducted in Cuba have demonstrated the importance of the agronomic and nutritional performance of the species Vigna unguiculata (cowpea), Canavalia ensiformis (jackbean), Stizolobium niveum (mucuna), Lablab purpureus (dolicho) and Glycine max (soybean) as feed sources for non-ruminant species. Under Cuban tropical conditions, and with minimum agricultural inputs, jackbean, dolicho and mucuna have attained forage yields between 4 and 6 t dry matter (DM)/ha and grain yields between 2.57 and 3.41 t/ha and cowpea and soybean have given yields of between 1 and 2 t/ha (Díaz 2000). This study was carried out to determine the chemical composition of grains and forages of these annual legumes in relation to their use in animal feeding