Measuring Impact

Research that works for developing countries and Australia

 

LPS: Integrating forage legumes into the maize cropping systems of West Timor

Project ID:
SMAR/2006/003: LPS: Integrating forage legumes into the maize cropping systems of West Timor
Collaborating Countries:
Indonesia
Commissioned Organisation:
CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, Australia
Project Leader
Mr Neal Dalgliesh
Phone: 07 4688 1376
Fax: 07 4688 1193
Email: neal.dalgliesh@csiro.au
Collaborating Institutions:
  • Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology (NTT), Indonesia
Project Budget:
$398,191
Project Duration:
01/10/2006 - 30/09/2009
ACIAR Research Program Manager
Dr Bill Winter
Project Overview

In West Timor, Indonesia, maize is a major component of the traditional food resource. But yields are poor due to inadequate crop nutrition and crop husbandry, and variable climate. Relay cropping of high-biomass forage legumes during the late wet season, when water and nutrient use by maize is declining, has potential to improve soil nutrient availability for maize crops grown in the following wet season and to supply quality forage for animal production during the subsequent dry season. This project will evaluate forage legumes for integration into maize cropping and assess their potential as dry season fodder to lift animal production. Socio-economic information gathered from participating farmers will assist in determining technology acceptability, potential broader impacts and extension strategies associated with the use of forage legumes.

Project Progress Reports
Year One

Objective 1
The first 12 months of the project have seen significant progress in all three objective areas. The program to evaluate forage legume species with potential for integration into the maize based farming systems has resulted in the identification of a set of plants which will now be taken forward into on-farm assessment during the 2007/08 season. These include Centrosema pascuorum, Clitoria ternatea, Dolichos lab lab, Macroptilium bracteatum, Desmanthus virgatus and Stylosanthes hamata. Whilst biomass production varies between sites and soil types the highest yielding species (Centrosema pascuorum and Dolichos lab lab) indicate the potential, producing in the range of 1000-4000 kg/ha dry matter in approx. 100 days. Whilst it is too early to gauge the impact of this production on nitrogen fixation it can be expected that there will be substantial contribution to nitrogen supply to a subsequent maize production. Whilst production from some other species matched the above levels the impact of disease or insect damage resulted in their exclusion from further evaluation at this time. Legume selection is both a result of identification of appropriate species through routine agronomic assessment, and farmer feedback on potential for system integration.

A critical component of developing forage legumes for NTT is to ensure that forage production becomes self reliant in terms of seed supply. This milestone has been reached during the first year with sufficient locally grown seed now available for immediate research needs and for the establishment of a more commercially based seed production activity which is planned to commence during the 2007/08 season.

Objective 2
Studies have commenced to evaluate the suitability of, and strategies for use of, the forage legumes within the Bali cattle management system in NTT. One of the major aims of developing use of fodder legumes is to provide continuity of supply of high quality fodder during periods when supply is currently limited, namely at the end of the dry season (September-November). Forage legumes provide an opportunity to use currently under-utilised stored soil moisture at the end of the wet season to grow fodder for later dry season use. The first on-station feeding trial has been completed, evaluating the live weight gain, feed intake and digestibility of Centrosema pascuorum, Clitoria ternatea, local Desmodium and Leucaena leucocephala (Tarramba) when fed to six month old weaned Bali calves. Whilst animal feeding data analysis is yet to be completed indications are that some forage legume species will contribute significantly to live weight gains but whether at the same level as Leucaena remains to be seen.

Current animal feeding research is focused on the evaluation of feed quality of crop residues (particularly maize and mung bean stover and rice bran) as well as the overall value of the supplementation of these residues with quantities of legume material. Work during 2007/08 will focus on:
Sequential feeding of a range of legumes as they come on stream during the dry season
In-village evaluation of fodder quality and animal liveweight gains
The development of systems to store the feed for late dry season utilisation.

Objective 3
The third objective of the project is to gain both an understanding of how representative the collaborating villages are of West Timorese society generally, to benchmark current practice and to monitor practice change over time. Benchmarking surveys have been undertaken in all of the collaborating villages. These surveys function to underpin understanding of the people and their farming systems with which we are working as well as a basis to build upon over time through continuing evaluation. These data are used to inform researchers on progress and impact as well as providing research direction and identification of potential challenges before they become major issues. This type of evaluation also provides a facility for the farmers to provide input into the research process ie participatory research.