Lablab and Pigeon Pea for Fodder in Ghana

Why a farmer in the dry belt should plant two legumes

Most Ghanaian smallholders who keep goats, rabbits or a few hundred birds run into the same problem every year. The rains start well, the grass and crop residues look plentiful, and then by the end of the dry season the pasture is brown and the feed bill climbs. Animals lose weight, hens slow down on lay, and money goes on purchased feed that was never planned for.

Lablab and pigeon pea are two legumes that help close that gap. Both are grown across the savannah and transition zones, and both can be established on a small plot with simple tools. They do not replace grain or a balanced mash, but they supply green protein and fibre when the rest of the farm has dried out. A plot of each, planted on the first good rains, can keep a family's goats and rabbits fed well into the dry months.

If you are still deciding whether to keep livestock or birds at all, the guide to starting poultry farming in Ghana sets out the basics. For more practical reading on feed and farm planning, the Halaal Farms blog has a range of articles.

Lablab: a climbing bean that keeps its leaves

Lablab, also called hyacinth bean, is a warm-season legume that twines and climbs when it has something to hold on to. It grows quickly once the soil is warm and wet, and it flowers and pods within a few months. Its leaves stay green longer than most grasses, which is why farmers value it as a dry-season forage.

Lablab does well on well-drained sandy loam and on light soils that are not waterlogged. It can take a dry spell once the roots are established, but it will not thrive through a long drought from the first week. Buy seed of a forage type from your local extension office or a reputable seed seller, and check that the seed is fresh. Old seed is one of the most common reasons for poor germination.

Plant when the soil is moist to a depth of several centimetres. Lablab seed is large and can have a hard coat. If you have seen poor germination before, soak the seed overnight or nick the coat lightly with a knife before sowing. Do not soak it for longer than a day, or it may rot in the ground.

Pigeon pea: the shrub that goes deep for water

Pigeon pea, known botanically as Cajanus cajan, has a long taproot that reaches well below the zone where most grasses and short crops feed. That is why it keeps some leaf when other plants have dropped theirs. In Ghana you will find short-season types that flower and mature in several months, and longer-season types that can stay in the field for a year or more and be cut back several times.

For a fodder plot, the short types are easier to manage. They fit into the rains after an early maize crop, or they can be planted alone on a fresh patch. The longer types suit a corner of the compound or a bund, where they keep producing leaves and stems for a long time without much attention.

Pigeon pea prefers well-drained soil and does not like standing water, which rots the roots. It tolerates poor soils better than many legumes, but it responds well to a little phosphorus and to weeding during the first two months, when it is slow to cover the ground.

Lablab or pigeon pea: matching the plant to the job

The two plants overlap in what they give, but they suit different jobs on a farm. The table below is a starting point. Adjust it to your own land, rainfall and animals.

If you can only plant one, choose lablab for quick feed in a normal season. Choose pigeon pea if you expect a hard dry season, or if you want a plant that will last for years once it is established.

Choosing land, timing the rains and preparing the seedbed

Pick a plot that drains well and is not in the low corner where water sits after heavy rain. A gently sloping field is better than a flat patch that floods. Avoid land where the last crop was a legume of the same family if you can, because soil diseases can build up. Moving the plot each season keeps this under control.

Timing is the biggest single decision. Lablab seed should go in once the first solid rains have soaked the soil, usually in the early part of the major season in the south and at the start of the rains in the north. Planting too early, before the soil holds enough moisture, wastes seed. Planting too late gives the plant less time to bulk up before the dry spell returns.

Clear the plot of large stones and old roots, then do one clean hoeing or ploughing so the seed sits in soft soil. Neither legume needs a deep seedbed. Seed sitting two to three centimetres down in loose soil comes up far better than seed buried under a clod.

Planting distance and seed rate, step by step

A simple layout works well on most small plots. Mark rows about 60 centimetres apart with a rope or a stick. For lablab, plant two or three seeds in each hole, with holes 30 to 45 centimetres apart along the row, and cover them lightly. For pigeon pea, plant two seeds per hole at a wider spacing, because the plant becomes a bushy shrub that needs room to branch.

Seed rates depend on whether you want forage or grain, and on seed size and germination. As a rough guide, lablab for forage often takes around 20 to 30 kilograms per hectare when broadcast or drilled. Most small plots are planted by the hole, so count holes and seeds instead of weighing. Before you sow a large amount, test germination on a handful of seed wrapped in a damp cloth for a few days.

Plant a little more seed than you need and thin later. Losing a few seedlings to birds, insects or a dry spell is normal, and a thicker start gives you a safety margin.

Weeding, thinning and the first six weeks

The first six weeks decide how well the plot covers the ground. Both legumes are slow to close the canopy at the start, and weeds will take the space if you let them. Weed by hand or with a hoe when the seedlings are about ten centimetres high, and again two to three weeks later. Keep the hoe well away from the plants in the early weeks, because the roots are shallow.

Thin the seedlings after emergence. Where two or three plants have come up in one hole, leave the strongest. Lablab climbs, so if you have a short stake or pole you can let two plants share it, but a crowded clump will grow thin and weak. Pigeon pea needs one strong plant per hole, because it branches heavily as it grows.

Watch the young leaves for insects, and look for leaf spots after a wet spell. Holes with missing plants can be replanted in the first two weeks, which is far easier than replanting the whole plot later. Keep a simple note of rainfall, plant count and weeding dates. It will help you plan the next season far better than memory will.

When to cut for fodder without killing the plant

Cutting is where many farmers lose the plant. A lablab vine cut too hard or too early can take a long time to recover, and a pigeon pea cut at the wrong height can die back to almost nothing. The general rule is to leave a healthy base of leaves and stems that the plant can use to regrow.

For lablab, cut when the plant has put on good leafy growth and before the vines turn woody, which is usually around the time it starts to flower. Cut about 30 to 40 centimetres above the ground and leave some leaf on the stub. Give the plant time to recover between cuts. Two or three cuts in a season is a common pattern in good rains, but the exact number depends on your rainfall and soil.

Pigeon pea responds to a hard prune after the main seed harvest or in the late dry season. Cut back the older stems and keep the younger branches, and the plant will often push out fresh shoots with the next rains. Do not strip every leaf at once, because that starves the roots.

Cut in the cool of the morning, when the plant holds the most moisture, and move the material into shade to wilt before feeding. Do not leave cut material in the sun, because the leaves dry out and lose value quickly.

What the leaves actually give your animals

Legume leaves carry more protein than most grass, and that is the main reason to grow them. Lablab leaves and young vines commonly fall in a range of roughly 18 to 25 percent crude protein on a dry matter basis, depending on how far the plant has grown. Pigeon pea leaves often sit in a similar range. Mature stems are much lower in protein and higher in fibre, so feeding value falls as the plant gets older and woodier.

Treat those numbers as typical ranges, not guarantees. Your plants will vary with soil, rainfall and the stage at which you cut. If you need an exact figure for a ration, send a sample to a feed testing laboratory or ask your extension officer, rather than relying on a general table.

Protein is only part of feed value. Energy matters too. Fresh vines hold a lot of water, so an animal eating only fresh legume may take in very little dry matter. That is why many farmers wilt the cut material or dry it. For goats and sheep, leaves offered alongside a little grain or cassava peel, plus a mineral lick, make a much more balanced diet than leaves alone. If you are weighing feed costs against egg income for a layer flock, the layer egg profit calculator lets you test different feed prices.

Anti-nutrients: why you wilt lablab and cook pigeon pea seed

Both plants carry natural compounds that can harm animals if they are fed the wrong way. Some lablab types contain cyanogenic compounds, which can release cyanide when the plant is chewed or damaged. Wilting the cut material for several hours, and feeding it as part of a mixed diet, lowers that risk sharply. Never give a hungry animal a large heap of freshly cut lablab when it has eaten nothing else all day.

Pigeon pea seed contains tannins and trypsin inhibitors, which reduce how well an animal digests protein. Raw seed should not be used as a main feed. Cooking reduces these compounds a great deal, and soaking before cooking helps further. Use cooked seed as a small share of the ration, and watch how the animal responds. Leaves are usually fed in larger amounts than seed.

When in doubt about a particular herd or flock, a vet or livestock officer can tell you how much is safe and what to watch for. Warning signs include sudden weakness, heavy breathing, diarrhoea or a sharp drop in feed intake. If any of those appear after a new feed, stop the feed and call the vet. Our FAQ page covers questions about our chicks, but for feed problems in animals a qualified vet is the right person to ask.

Feeding plan by animal: goats, rabbits, grasscutters and birds

Goats and sheep do best on wilted lablab or pigeon pea leaves mixed with grass hay and a small amount of concentrate. Start with a few handfuls a day and build up slowly over a week or two, so the rumen can adjust. Goats often pick through a heap and waste the stems, so chop the material finer or offer it in a feeder.

Rabbits need steady, dry-surfaced green feed. Wet fresh leaves given in large amounts suddenly can upset their gut. Wilt the leaves until they lose their wet shine, then offer them alongside their usual pellets or grain. Remove leftovers before they rot in the hutch. If you keep a particular rabbit or poultry line, the breeds page lists what each one is kept for.

Grasscutters eat legume leaves readily, but they also waste a lot if you give more than they can finish. Offer what they will eat in a few hours and clear the pen each day.

Birds can take dried leaf meal as a small share of their diet. Layers and growers do not need large amounts. A careful approach is to add finely ground, dried leaf meal at a low level, perhaps a few percent of the mash, and then watch droppings, feed intake and egg output for two weeks before increasing. Check any mash change with your feed supplier or a nutritionist first. The poultry feed calculator helps you see how a small change in ingredients affects the cost per bag. If you are starting a new flock and need chicks, the day-old chicks for Ghana page explains what we supply.

Drying the leaves and saving seed for next season

Drying extends the feed well beyond the rains. Spread the cut leaves and fine stems in a thin layer under shade with good airflow. Turn them once or twice a day until they are crisp and crumble in the hand. In good conditions this takes a few days. Do not dry them on hot concrete or in direct sun for long, because the leaves bleach and lose protein and colour. Store the dry material in a clean, dry, covered place off the floor. Mouldy hay is a risk for every animal, so throw out anything that smells musty or shows white or black growth.

For seed, leave the healthiest plants in the field until the pods are fully dry on the plant. Pick the pods, dry them in the sun for a few days, then thresh and clean the seed. Store it in airtight containers or sealed bags in a cool, dry room, and keep it away from damp walls. Label each batch with its planting date so you know how old it is.

On cost, seed for a small fodder plot is usually cheap compared with purchased feed. Labour for weeding and cutting is the main expense. Once a plot is established, it can keep giving feed for several seasons, which is why the first year of work pays off. To compare the plot with your current feed bill, use the poultry calculators and enter the local prices you actually pay.

Questions farmers ask