Systematics, diversity and forage value of indigenous legumes of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland

The diversity of legumes, indigenous to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland is reported using recorded descriptive and distribution data. A total of 24 tribes, 118 genera and 1662 species were documented with the majority of genera belonging to subfamily Faboideae, tribe Phaseoleae, and the majority of species to tribe Crotalarieae. In terms of distribution patterns, most species were present in the Savanna Biome and Central Bushveld Bioregion. Even though most tribes contain species with secondary metabolites (mainly non-protein amino acids), tribes containing poisonous species are far fewer. Herbs are the key growth form, followed by shrubs, dwarf shrubs and trees. The majority of species are perennials. A map representing the collection intensity for the study area showed that the majority of legumes species were collected in the Fynbos, Savanna and Grassland Biome. It is concluded that indigenous South African legumes are extremely diverse and this denotes the importance of further investigating their forage potential or use in other agricultural practices.Key words: Biomes, bioregions, Fabaceae, fodder, genebank, Leguminosae, pastures, tribe

Integrating biotechnology into the polyfarm concept

The polyfarm concept aims at strengthening traditional and appropriate farming technologies within the local agro-economic, cultural and socio-economic constraints of rural small farming. Different modules can be grouped together to suit the needs of the farmer. The polyfarm can serve as a demonstration and training facility to make rural farmers aware of the existence of biotechnologically-enhanced crops, their benefits and potential for use by resource-poor farmers. Enhanced soybean and maize are planted together with the conventional crop to demonstrate that these crops can improve yields, cut costs, reduce spraying and save time for the small-scale farmers

Collection Priorities of Pasture Genetic Resources in the Paniceae Native to South Africa

There is an urgent need for the prioritization and ex situ conservation of pasture grass species. Many pasture grasses are still in the process of domestication and grasslands in the tropical, subtropical, semi-arid and arid regions of the world are therefore a major source of genetic material for future forage improvement. Within South Africa, it was found that the Paniceae contains several species with high pasture value and that many populations of these species are found in water-limited environments. Therefore, it was proposed that a strategy be developed for the South African National Forage Genebank to prioritize efforts to collect and conserve seed of grass species within the Paniceae, focussing especially on those species in genera Anthephora, Brachiaria, Digitaria, Panicum and Setaria located in areas receiving less than 600 mm of annual precipitation

Research note: The use of Lolium multiflorum and uninoculated Trofolium subterraneum as reference crops in nitrogen fixation studies

The 15N natural abundance and15 N dilutions methods were used to determine the viability of using either Lolium Multiflorum (annual ryegrass) or uninoculated Trifolium subterraneum (subterrenean clover), as non-fixing reference crops in N2-fixation studies. The &#94815 N values for the15 N natural abundance method and atom% 15N values for the 15N dilution method for plant and soil samples are presented. The ryegrass pastures showed the least variation in &#94815N and atom%15N values between experimental plots. This crop appeared to be a more appropriate choice in such studies, but further investigation is needed to confirm this observation. The use of uninoculated subterranean clover as a reference crop seemed problematic, since inoculation with effective rhizobia could not be prevented. Relatively high variation in &#94815N values for inoculated for subterranean clover was obtained compared to the atom% 15N values. This result indicated that the use of the 15N natural abundance method should be evaluated for other pasture legume species.Keywords: botany; crops; Lolium multiflorum; nitrogen fixation; nodulation; Roodeplaat Research Station; ryegrass; South Africa; subterraneum clover; Trifolium subterraneum; Woogenellup; 15NAfrican Journal of Range and Forage Science 1995, 12 (1):46–4

Impact of Two Grazing Strategies on Rangeland Basal Cover and Beef Production in the Sourish Mixed Bushveld

The sustainability of beef cattle producers in South Africa is greatly dependent on the availability of natural resources. The aim of the study was first to evaluate the effect of two different strategies in the utilisation of rangeland over four years (2011/12 – 2014/15) on the basal cover—secondly, the study compared animal production results from the two extensively managed rotational grazing strategies. Grazing strategies include a traditional rotational system (TRG), where approximately 60% of fodder was utilised, compared with light selective grazing (LSG), where about 30% of fodder was used. Basal cover for TRG ranged from 19% (2011/12) to 15% (2014/15) and for LSG from 18% (2011/12) to 16% (2014/15). The calving percentage varied between 62% and 73%. The calving percentage and cow and calf weight did not differ between the two grazing strategies, although differences between years were observed. Both grazing systems can be implemented successfully in the Sourish Mixed Bushveld without negatively affecting the rangeland. However, basal cover may be more vulnerable during drought conditions under a TRG system. The study further indicates that mainly small-scale farmers, where utilisation levels of rangelands are usually high, are more vulnerable to drought conditions