Legumes are usually grown agriculturally, primarily for human consumption, for livestock forage and silage, and as soil-enhancing green manure. Well-known legumes include alfalfa, clover, beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, soybeans, peanuts, and tamarind.
Many farmers understand the value of growing legumes along with their main crops, or between harvests. The legumes replace nitrogen used by crops. They also provide a cover for the soil to help protect it from heavy rains and strong winds. The roots of the legume plants hold the soil in place.
COWPEA (Vignaunguiculata)
Description: Cowpea is a member of the pulses or legumes. It belongs to the family. Leguminosae. It is rich in protein. The fruit of cowpea is called Pod.
Varieties/cultivar: Erect type, creeping type, Ife brown, Ife bimpe
Land preparation: Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically.
Climatic Requirement: The temperature of 27 °C- 35 °C, Rainfall of 60-125cm per annum
Soil Requirement: Well-drained sandy loamy soil
Method of propagation: By seeds
Planting date: April to September, depending on the ecological zone.
Planting: Planting can be done manually or mechanically at 2-3 seeds per hole.
Seed rate: 20 – 25kg per hectare.
Spacing: Erect type – 30 x 75cm, Creeping type – 25 x 90cm
Cultural practices: Supplying, thinning, weeding, fertilizer application, control of pests and diseases
Maturity period: 9 – 12 weeks after planting, depending
on varieties.
Harvesting: Hand-picking of mature brown pods.
Processing: Sun drying, threshing, and winnowing
Uses:
- A source of plant protein for man,
- It serves as a cover crop,
- It serves as a forage legume.
- It is used for making green manure.
Storage: Seeds are stored in jute bags silos or airtight container after proper drying. Seeds should be treated with insecticide and the store fumigated to prevent weevil attack
GROUNDNUT (Arachis hypogea)
Description: Groundnut is a dual-purpose crop. It serves as an oil crop as well as a pulse or leguminous crop. However, it is grown mainly for its oil. The seed gives about 40-45% of excellent edible oil.
Varieties/cultivar: Bunch or erect type, creeping type, Kano local, Kano 50
Land preparation: Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically.
Climatic Requirement: The temperature of 25 °C- 30 °C, Rainfall of 70-100cm per annum.
Soil Requirement: Coarse-textured sandy loamy soil, which is slightly acidic and rich in calcium and phosphorus for pod formation.
Method of propagation: By seeds
Planting date: South – March / April, North – May / June
Planting: The planting can be done manually or mechanically at 2-3 seeds per hole
Seed rate: 30 – 35kg per hectare.
Spacing: Erect type – 60 x 15cm Creeping type – 60 x 20cm
Cultural practices: Supplying, thinning, weeding, and control of pests and diseases. Groundnut does not need fertilizer application except on very poor soil.
Maturity period: 3 – 4 months after planting.
Harvesting: It is ready for harvest when the leaves turn yellow and begin to wilt. It is done by uprooting the plant manually or mechanically and allowing it to dry for easy removal of pods.
Processing: Sun drying, removal of seeds from the pods by slightly pounding in a mortar or using a decorticating or shelling machine
Uses:
- Used for making oil
- For making a cake to feed a man and
farm animals - For making groundnut butter.
Storage: Dried groundnut seeds are stored in silos or rhombus. Unshelled pods are stored in jute bags.
Evaluation
1. Mention the pre-planting operations in cowpea cultivation
2. Mention three uses each of a) groundnut b) cowpea
3. Outline five important of legumes
Cultivation of roots and tubers
YAM (Dioscorea spp)
Description: Yam belongs to the family. Dioscoreaceae. It is a root and tuber
crop grown in West Africa, and it is rich in carbohydrates.
Varieties/cultivar: Water yam (Dioscoreaalata), Yellow yam (Dioscoreacayenesis), White yam (Dioscorearotundata), Bitter yam (Dioscoreadomentorum, Aerial yam (Dioscoreabulbifera),
Land preparation: Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically.
Climatic requirement: The temperature of 25oC – 30 °C, Rainfall of 100cm – 180cm per annum.
Soil requirement: A well-drained sandy-loamy soil, rich in humus.
Method of propagation: By yam seeds or yam sets.
Planting date: Early yam – November / December, Late yam – March / April
Planting: Open a hole on the ridge using a hoe and place one yam set inside with the cut surface turned upward and slantly placed at an angle of 45 degrees
Seed rate: 3 – 5 tonnes per hectare
Cultural practices: Mulching, weeding, application of fertilizers, staking, and training of the vine. Weeding and fertilizer application.
Maturity period: 8 – 12 months, depending on the variety.
10 – 15 months, depending on varieties.
Harvesting: This is done by digging the soil gently with a cutlass to remove the tuber from the soil.
Processing: It can be processed into yam flour.
Uses: It is consumed by humans and farm animals.
Storage: Yam tubers are stored in barns.
CASSAVA (Manihot spp)
Description: Cassava is a root and tuber crop, rich in carbohydrates. It is easily cultivated and can grow in relatively poor soil.
Varieties/cultivar: Sweet cassava (Manihotutilissima), Bitter cassava (Manihotpalmata)
Land preparation: Clearing the land and making ridges either manually or mechanically.
Climatic Requirement: The temperature of 21oC – 35 °C, Rainfall of 150 – 200cm per annum.
Soil Requirement: Dried loamy soil. It can also tolerate poor soil.
Method of Propagation: By stem cuttings (25 – 30cm long).
Planting Date: March to September, depending on the ecological zone.
Planting: 2/3 of the stem cuttings are buried in a slanting position or at an angle of 45 degrees.
Seed Rate: Spacing 90cm x 100cm, 100cm x 100cm.
Harvesting: This is done by digging the soil gently around the tubers and pulling the stem gently so that the tubers are pulled along, or by using a cassava
puller.
Processing: It can be processed into cassava flour, garri, or foofoo.
Uses: It is consumed by humans and farm animals.
Storage: Cassava is stored in processed form in sacks
Evaluation
1. List three cultivars of yam and their botanical names.
2. Name the soil and climatic requirements, planting material, maturity period and planting date in cassava cultivation
General evaluation
1. Discuss the cultivation of yam under the following subheadings: A. method of propagation, B. planting date and planting, C. harvesting, D. soil and climatic requirements
2. Discuss the production of a named legume under A. varieties, B. soil and climatic requirements, C. method of propagation, D. planting, E) harvesting
3. State four uses of groundnut.
4. Discuss the cultural practices in yam cultivation.
Theory
1. Discuss the following practices in yam cultivation: A. staking, B. mulching, C. training of the vine
2. Outline four importance of legumes.
In our next class, we will be talking about Agricultural Ecology. We hope you enjoyed the class.