For years in different tropical agricultural areas of the world, producers have implemented and established the use of alternatives in their feeding systems, one of the most outstanding are the use of forage species legume family being some of shrubby bearing whose main advantage is reflected in its high protein content contained in the foliage, therefore, this type of fodder is used in periods of food shortage and in some agroecosystems permanently, since, such plants can be used as a protein bank or legume associations depending on the available surface area.
Design made by @amestyj with public domain images taken from creazilla;commons.wikimedia
Within the family of legumes or fabaceae there is a high diversity of tree plants in the countries of the American tropics that allows us to propose a sustainable development model, because it could be able to support production in the medium and long term. As for that, García, Medina, Cova, Soca, Pizzani, Baldizán and Domìnguez (2008), mention the Gliricidia sepium, known locally as Matarratón, which is part of that tree diversity that is widely distributed in the tropics, with high productive potential which has been shown to be a fodder plant according to the results obtained for livestock production.
In the same vein, regarding the spread of Glyricidia sepium Aldana (2009), he pointed out that it can be done by seed or by cuttings. Likewise Calderón, Urbano and Moreno (1998), pointed out that there is a scarce production of seeds of this plant in the South of Lake Maracaibo Venezuela, therefore its main means of reproduction is the use of parts of the plant being a vegetative route, from which its sprouting speed and development time is very variable depending on humidity, since an excess of water can cause the loss of it. On the other hand, Rincón (2011), expressed that when sowing is done directly in the field, it is more difficult to control the emergence of plants and achieve uniform plantings, although this method is more economical.
Design made by @amistad with public domain images taken from flickr 1,2,3, 4
Due to the above, in recent decades there has been an interest in studying shrub and tree legumes, as they are a group of plants that can offer the animal high-quality fodder all year round. Likewise, Dávila and Urbano (1996), pointed out that animal production and forage quality can be increased by using shrub legumes such as Matarratón associated with grasses or protein banks, since these shrubs have a greater spatial distribution both in the aerial part and in the roots, in addition these plants fix atmospheric nitrogen by incorporating it directly into the grassland ecosystem.
In Venezuela, the Matarratón, according to what was reported by Chacón (1995), is found from sea level to 1300 meters above sea level and is widely distributed in the country, it can grow in loamy soils with a pH higher than 5.0 and of good drainage, its propagation can be by seed or vegetative. In the case of direct sowing by cuttings (stem or branch fractions), it can be sown by two different methods vertically and horizontally, with an emergence percentage ranging from 68 to 74%, resulting in a moderate percentage of plants on the sown surface.
Design made by @amestyj with own images
For his part, Wencomo (2004), recommends that tree species should be subjected to a nursery stage before being planted directly in the field, with the aim of observing their behavior in the initial stage of growth in such a way that the most vigorous plants can be selected, to resist the effects caused by both biotic and abiotic stress in natural conditions, although the production costs for the establishment and exploitation of the species increase.
From all the above mentioned, it is interesting to evaluate this type of plants in a controlled way in nursery with vegetative seeds with the intention of promoting the growth and development of cuttings, some organic fertilizers could be used as a sustainable alternative, so that it allows to obtain uniform plantations and resistant to agroecological factors (humidity, planting depth among others), due to when crops are established through seedlings from nursery, there is a high possibility that they will resist the attack of some pest or any climatic eventuality, which almost completely guarantees the establishment of the sown area.
García, E.D., Medina, G.M., Cova, L. J., Soca, M., Pizzani, P., Baldizán, A. and Dominguez, C.E., (2008). Acceptability of tropical tree foliage by 37 cattle, sheep and goats in Trujillo state, Venezuela. Tropical Zootechnics., 26(3): 191-196.
Aldana, M.G., (2009). Matarratón or Mother of Cocoa (Gliricidia sepium) a shady alternative in an agroforestry system for the cultivation of Cocoa. USAID's MIDAS program. ISBN No. 978-958-98599-1-9.
Calderón, Urbano and Moreno (1998). Improvement of mestizo livestock farming dual purpose, Associations with tree legumes in the south of Lake Maracaibo, establishment and production. 1 (1) 258-274 Zulia, Venezuela.
Rincón, J. (2011). Innovation and technology in dual-purpose livestock farming. Establishment and management of arboreal legumes of forage importance in semi-arid areas of Venezuela. University of Zulia. Venezuela.
Dávila and Urbano (1996), Arboreal forage legumes in tropical agriculture. Tree legumes in the Southern Area of Lake Maracaibo. Pág. 101- 113 Center for Transfer of Technologies in Pastures and Forages of the University of Zulia, Venezuela.
Chacón (1997). Feeding Strategies for Tropical Livestock Farming. Main aspects of the management and use of legumes and strategic crops in the south west region of Venezuela. P. 123-139. National Experimental University of Tachira. Venezuela-
Wencomo H. (2004). Evaluation of 50 sections of Leucaena spp. In the nursery phase. Pastures and Forages, vol. 27 No. 4 p. 321-329
