Tree Legume Establishment

Tree legume system establishment with
smallholders
Yusuf A. Sutaryono
2020
Introduction
Tree legume can be established

for pasture and cut & carry and
planted as:
Forage orchard on backyard or in

the uncultivated land
 On rice bund (Sesbania) or

living fences (tree legume)
Alley cropping with food

crops or as annual or perennial
plants in uncultivated land
Introduction
Advantages of forages (tree
legumes) next to house (backyard)
Closer to carry to the pen/cattle
Easy to be collected/harvested
Close to storage place if the forages
will be store
Safe from stealing by others
Disadvantages
Limited land availability
– need lot of land for high production
Backyard often use for growing
vegetable and usually overshadow by
canopy for optimal growth
Introduction
Tree legumes) to be planted

: or cut and carry
F
 Tree legume such as Leucaena,
Gliricidia, Sesbania, Indigofera) planted
and harvested regularly
For grazing
 Tree legume (such as Leucaena and
Indigofera) can be used for grazing. But plant
have to be keep low and spread evenly in the
land
To grow and establish tree legume with seed we need high quality
seed:
•1. Clean (from seed contaminants)
•2. Able to germinate
•Germination percentage
- Legumes 40 – 80 %
Low germination caused by:

- seed dormancy
- bad storage condition of seed
- bad storage condition of seed
-
Hard seed in legumes
• Several legume seeds cannot germinate straight
after planted caused by hard skin seed that
prevent water penetrate seed.
• If germination rate 40%< , seed not need to be
treated.
• Mix between hard seed and soft seed will give
advantage because some of the hard seeds will
not germinate directly. Hard seed will become
soft in the soil and will germinate at the due time
Hard seed in legumes
• Some legume seeds need to be treated before

planting
• Legume has some level of seed hardness, and
may need certain treatment before planting
(see Table, page 53. Stur and Horne)
(Stur and Horne)
Planting tree legume with seed
Planting tree legumes with seed

has some limitations:
• Seed difficult to stored, reduced

germinated rate
• Small and slow growth
• Easy to drowned by rain water
• Oftenly taken by ants
• Low quality seed, difficult to
get seed in the tropic
To grow and establish the legumes with seed we need high

quality seed:
•1. Clean (from seed contaminants)
•2. Able to germinate
•Good germination percentage

- Legumes 40% - 80%
Low germination caused by:
1. Seed hardness
Condition of seed which is not growth directly when
it is planted caused by seed hardness
2. Seed dormancy
Seed could not germinate directly caused by
condition of seed is in “resting” phase
How to break seed hardness/seed dormancy

1. Use sand paper to break hardness
2. Use nail cutter to cut the seed little bit
(only for small number of seeds)
(for small number of seeds)
(Tanda Panjaitan)
3. Use hot water – seed is put in hot water 80oC for

5 minutes then was placed (kept) in cool water for
12 hours
(Tanda Panjaitan)
Planting tree legume to the land
1. Planted seed directly to the land

2. Nursery – grow in raise bed
(bedengan) then transplanted
to land (as stump) after 30 – 40
cm high or more (between 4
month – 1 year)
3. Poly bag – transplanted to land stump
after 3-4 months growth in poly
bag
Planted seed directly to the land

• Advantages
 Quick
 Easy
 Low cost/low labour
• Disadvantages
 Low germination
 High variation of
growth
 Slow growth rate
 Compete with
weeds
(Tanda Panjaitan)
Nursery - raise bed
• Advantages
 Not affected by season
 Growth realatively even
 Easy to control
 Easy transplanted
 Could be planted year after
• Disadvantages
 Prepared for raise bed need
time and cost
 Need extra attention
 Replanted need good and
enough rain
 Stress when replanted
(Tanda Panjaitan)
Nursery - poly bag
• Advantages
 Not depend on season

 Grow evenly
 Easy maintain
Could be transplanted any time
 Stress caused by replanted could be
reduced
(Tanda Panjaitan)
Nursery - poly bag
• Disadvantages
 High cost
 High labour
 More difficult when transported
from nursery to planting location
 Need replacement planting
(Tanda Panjaitan)
Number of seed planted – planting distance
• Planting distance in line:

2m x 1m = sole tree legume
5m x 1 m = for alley cropping with corn/peanut
7m x 1 m = for alley cropping with corn/peanut
• Spread in land for grazing

Tree legume needed for cattle
No Plants Season ∑ tree/ Duration
head Fattening
1. Leucaena Taramba (2-3 years) Rainy 170 3-4 (months)
2. Leucaena Taramba (2-3 years) Dry 350 3-4 ((months)
3. Leucaena local (>5 years) Rainy 60 3-4 (months)
4. Leucaena local (>5 years) Dry 120 3-4 (months)
(From Tanda Panjaitan )

Use of available forage resources
 Good and regular

harvesting
Production and quality of tree
legume can be improved by:
Good harvesting management
Regular harvesting avoid plant

to produced excessive seed
that could become weed
Provided enough biomass
Harvesting and storing of seed
- Seed is alive, but died quickly
if not dried properly and
stored in dry and cool
condition.
- Seed has to be kept in less
10% water content (with good
packaging).
In high humidity seed die

quickly in less than 3 months
Harvesting and storing of seed
(Stur and Horne 2000)

(Stur and Horne 2000)
Where can farmers get source materials?
I. Seed : provided by Redi Kamodi (MAF – Project staff)

II. Plant seedling/stump:
Prepared by RK (Farmer group)
1. Seedling in poly bag (3-4 months old)
2. Stump (3-4 months old) – stump is plant seedling 3-4
months old growth in raise bed and re planted directly to
land after the plants pull from raise bed and clean from all
branches
Prepared by farmer himself

- Under supervision of FR
•Thank you

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Tree legume system establishment with

Tree legume can be established

Forage orchard on backyard or in

 On rice bund (Sesbania) or

Alley cropping with food

Tree legumes) to be planted

Low germination caused by:

• Some legume seeds need to be treated before

Planting tree legumes with seed

• Seed difficult to stored, reduced

To grow and establish the legumes with seed we need high

•Good germination percentage

Low germination caused by:

How to break seed hardness/seed dormancy

(for small number of seeds)

3. Use hot water – seed is put in hot water 80oC for

1. Planted seed directly to the land

Planted seed directly to the land

 Not depend on season

• Planting distance in line:

• Spread in land for grazing

(From Tanda Panjaitan )

 Good and regular

Regular harvesting avoid plant

In high humidity seed die

(Stur and Horne 2000)

I. Seed : provided by Redi Kamodi (MAF – Project staff)

Prepared by farmer himself

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