iCowApp

Credit: Biovision-Infonet

1. Introduction

General Distribution:

It was widely introduced in the tropics over the last 100 years, reaching Africa in 1950. It is naturalized and to some extent invasive in some parts of Kenya with moist ground and warm climate.

General Information about the Tree:

The species exhibits great variation. The chemical mimosine in the leaves can cause hair loss, infertility and stomach problems in livestock, especially non-ruminants like donkeys. Livestock feed should not therefore contain more than 20% of Leucaena.

Biophysical Limits:

It grows well at altitudes of 0-1,600 m, in full sunlight and in well drained neutral or calcareous soil. It does not tolerate acidic soils and needs more than 600 mm rainfall. It does well in agro-ecological zones II-V.

2. Propagation and Tree Management

It may be propagated by use of seedlings and direct sowing at site. Is very fast growing on suitable sites; pollarding, lopping and coppicing may be employed. High plant densities are recommended for solid fodder. Fodder yields range from 40 to 80 t/ha when moisture is not limiting.

Products:

• Food: Pods, seeds and leaf tips have been used as food, although mimosine toxicity makes this practice risky.
• Fodder: is one of the high quality and most palatable fodder trees of the tropics being equaled to the “alfalfa of the tropics”.
• Apiculture: is in bloom almost throughout the year, providing constant forage to honey bees.
• Fuel: is an excellent firewood species
• Other products: poles, medicine (roots), mulch, tannin and dye

Services:

• Erosion control: An aggressive taproot system helps in reducing the run-off.
• Shade or shelter: is often is used as a shade tree for cocoa, coffee and tea; it generally acts as a shelterbelt, providing shade and wind protection for a variety of crops, especially during early growth.
• Reclamation: L. leucocephala thrives on steep slopes and in marginal areas with extended dry seasons, making it a prime candidate for restoring forest cover, watersheds and grasslands.
• Nitrogen fixing: It has high nitrogen-fixing potential due to its abundant root nodulation.
• Soil improver: it is also used for the production of green manure in alley cropping
• Ornamental: it is suitable as an ornamental and roadside landscaping tree species.
• Boundary or barrier or support: it is used as a live fence, firebreak and live support for vines such as pepper, coffee and cocoa, vanilla, yam and passion fruit.
• Intercropping: is one of the most widely used species in alley cropping, where it is planted in hedges along contours with crops in between.

3. Pests and Diseases

A psyllid insect pest, Heteropsylla cubana, causes defoliation. In Kenya, the psyllid defoliates the leucaena, resulting in severely reduced production of fodder as well as wood, but without killing the leucaena but it has caused serious defoliation and mortality in eastern Africa. A Caribbean parasitoid, Psyllaephagus, shows specificity and excellent appetite for H. cubana and hence offers possibilities for biological control.

Some varieties of lusina are susceptible to gummosis, most likely caused by Fusarium semitectum. Ganodermalucidum is said to cause root rot in arid and semi-arid regions and Leaf-spot fungus can cause defoliation under wet conditions. Wild animals avidly consume seedlings.

4. Information Source Links

• Maundu P. and Bo Tengnas. (2005). Useful trees and shrubs for Kenya, World Agroforestry Centre. ISBN-9966-896-70-8.
• www.worldagroforestry.org

Last updated.

10/02/2019 – 08:49

Credit: Biovision-Infonet

1. Introduction

General distribution:

It is native to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and US. A tree or shrub, it is wide spread in the tropics due to its many uses and speed of growth. 

General information about the tree:

The Latin name means “rat-killer” as a poison can be made from the leaves which is toxic to rats as well as other non-ruminants like pigs, donkeys and horses. Bark, roots and seeds may also contain poison. A very useful quick fence can be grown from crossed stakes which soon sprout. Wood is resistant to termites.

Biophysical Limits:

It grows in a variety of soils, both acidic and those low in fertility, mainly in humid lowlands. Altitude is between 0 – 1,600 m. In Kenya it also does well in drier areas like Kitui and Isiolo. Agro-ecological zones III – VI.

2. Propagation and Tree Management

 Propagation is by seedlings, cuttings and direct sowing at site. Cuttings are the best option for live fence. They are fast growing; pruning and pollarding are the main management activities. Pruning at 0.3 – 1.5 m stimulates leaf production and pollarding at 2 m or above is recommended for optimal wood biomass production. Coppicing is used where the primary objective is firewood production. G. sepium has been shown to tolerate lopping and browsing.

Products:

• Food: Flowers can be fried and eaten.
• Fodder: G. sepium leaves are rich in protein and highly digestible, and low in fibre and tannin. There is evidence of improved animal production (both milk and meat) in large and small ruminants when G. sepium is used as a supplement. Goats on G. sepium gained weight and maintained a positive N balance. However, non-ruminants fed on G. sepium have shown clear signs of poisoning. Perceptions of palatability vary greatly around the world. There are reports from India and Indonesia of limitations to its use because animals will not eat it. In some areas, such as Colombia and Sri Lanka, there is no palatability constraint and it is an important dry-season feed.
• Apiculture: The flowers attract honeybees (Apis spp.), hence it is an important species for honey production.
• Fuel: Often used for firewood and charcoal production. The wood burns slowly without sparking and with little smoke, so it is an important fuelwood in the subhumid tropics. The calorific value of a 5-year-old tree is 4550 kcal/kg.
• Timber: Gliricidia has light brown sapwood and dark brown heartwood, turning reddish-brown on exposure to air. It is hard, coarse textured with an irregular grain, very durable and termite resistant. Wood is utilized for railway sleepers, farm implements, furniture, house construction and as mother posts in live-fence establishment.
• Poison: The leaves, seeds or powdered bark are toxic to humans when mixed with cooked rice or maize and fermented. The mechanism of toxicity is not understood. G. sepium has found application as a rodenticide and general pesticide.
• Medicine: Crude extracts have been shown to have antifungal activity. Reported to be expectorant, sedative and suppurative. Madre de cacao is a folk remedy for alopecia, boils, bruises, burns, colds, cough, debility, eruptions, erysipelas, fever, fractures, gangrene, headache, itch, prickly heat, rheumatism, skin tumours, ulcers, urticaria and wounds.

Services:

• Erosion control: Hedgerows in alley cropping serve to suppress weed growth and control erosion and have been shown to reduce the incidence of disease in groundnut crops.
• Shade or shelter: G. sepium is widely cultivated as shade for perennial crops (tea, coffee and cocoa). It is also used as a nurse tree for shade-loving species. Attributes contributing to its value as a shade tree include its fine, feathery foliage giving light shade, and the ability to withstand repeated pruning and to resprout vigorously.
• Reclamation: G. sepium has been planted to reclaim denuded land or land infested with Imperatacylindrica.
• Nitrogen fixing: The tree is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen.
• Soil improver: As a green manure, G. sepium increases soil organic matter; it aids in recycling of soil nutrients as it produces much litter. It also improves soil aeration and reduces soil temperature. It is a drought-resistant and valuable water-conserving species, because in the dry season it sheds most of its leaves, hence reducing water loss through transpiration.
• Boundary/barrier/support: Suitable for live fencing around cattle pastures and for delineating boundaries. Its fast growth, ease of propagation, nitrogen fixing ability and light canopy makes it ideal as a live stakes. It has been used to support black pepper, vanilla and yam in West Africa and India.
• Other services: The predictable relationship between flowering in G. sepium and the onset of the rainy season in Venezuela shows that it is a promising indicator species.

3. Pests and Diseases

Cercosporidium gliricidiasis, causes small, light brown, rounded spots with dark borders and is widely recorded. Other diseases include Sirosporium gliricidiae, which is associated with poor-growing trees, on which attacks can often result in moderate defoliation; Cladosporium sp., which caused defoliation in Costa Rica; and scab, Sphaceloma spp., which is manifested as brown lesions on the petioles and stems, has been found in Honduras. Of significant interest is the fact that it is resistant to the psyllid Heteropsylla cubana, which has caused serious devastation toLeucaena leucocephala.

Twig, stem and branch die-back caused by Botryosphaeria, Nectria and Phomopsis spp. have been recorded in Central America, Asia and Africa. Virus-like symptoms, including leaf curl, shoestring leaves, foliar distortion, mosaic, and mottle, have been noted in Central America. Leaf defoliators such as Hylesia lineata, Erynnis spp. and Spodoptera spp. have been reported to attack trees less than 3 years old as well as older trees in Central America. The aphid Aphis craccivora has been reported widely in India, Uganda and Trinidad. There have been no serious attacks from these insect pests except in the Dominican Republic, where serious aphid attacks have been recorded. In its natural range, G. sepium has been observed to die back extensively following production of abnormally small leaves (little leaf disease).

4. Information Source Links

• Maundu P. and Bo Tengnas. (2005). Useful trees and shrubs for Kenya, World Agroforestry Centre. ISBN-9966-896-70-8.
• www.worldagroforestry.org

Last updated.

10/02/2019 – 08:49

Local Names: English (Whistling pine, Beach she-oak, Horsetail tree); Luhya (Omuyeye); Swahili (Mvinje).

1. Introduction

General Distribution:

It is an indigenous species to Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu and Vietnam. It occurs naturally on tropical sea shores – Pacific and Indian Oceans, making it the Casurina with the widest natural distribution. In Kenya is common along the coral beaches and nearby hinterland. It can also be grown inland too but is limited to the coast. 

General Information about the Tree:

The species is said to exhaust soil moisture and lower the water table, and is tolerant to salt water. It suppresses undergrowth and dry needles on the ground may become a fire hazard. The species is reputed to be one of the best fuel species in the world.

Biophysical Limits:

Altitude ranges from 0 to 1,400 m above sea level, mean annual temperatures of 10 – 35 deg. C and mean annual rainfall of 200 – 3500 mm annually.
Soil type: Soils are invariably well-drained and rather coarse textured mainly sands and sand loams. The species is tolerant to both calcareous and slightly alkaline soils but is intolerant of prolonged waterlogging and may fail on poor sands where the subsoil moisture conditions are unsatisfactory. It can do well in agro-ecological zones 1-IV but is limited to the coast.

2. Propagation and Tree Management

It is a good tree for plantations and in agroforestry systems. Seedlings and wildings may be used to propagate it. It also produces root suckers if roots are exposed. Nursery soil where they are to be raised may need inoculation by addition of soil from beneath mature trees. Are fast growing and prune to get clear bole. It coppices well when young. It takes 4 – 6 yrs to mature.

Products:

• Fuel: it the highly regarded wood igniting readily even when green, and ashes retain heat for long periods (burns very well)
• Timber; yields heavy hardwood for furniture, poles (for house construction), posts, boat building (dhow masts) and tool handles
• Fibre; used in paper making rayon fibres.
• Tannin or dyestuffs; its bark is a source of tannin
• Medicine: root extracts are used in the treatment of dysentery, diarrhoea and stomach-ache.

Services:

• Erosion control; since it is salt tolerant and grows in sand, it is used to control soil erosion along the coast.
• Shade or shelter; naturally occurs areas susceptible to tropical cyclones or typhoons, and its general tolerance to strong winds. This, has encouraged its use in protective planting
• Ornamental; this tree is beautiful and hence suitable as an ornamental.
• Reclamation: Grows vigorously on barren, polluted sites and thrives in deep sandy soils and therefore suitable for reclamation of degraded areas.

3. Pests and Diseases

It is rarely attacked by diseases and pests unless if grown under unfavourable conditions. However, infected trees exhibit symptoms of foliar wilt and cracking of the bark where blisters develop, enclosing a black, powdery mass of spores. Bacterial wilt which is caused by Pseudumonas solanacearum, is characterized by yellowing of the foliage followed by wilting and death, has been reported in India and China. Pruning may make the susceptible to attacks by fungal pathogens, especially Trichosporium vesiculosum and Formes lucidus. Just as in other actinorhizal plants, endomycorrhizal (VAM) infection occurs easily. Insect pests include casuarina tussock moth, Lymantria xylina, white-spotted long-horn beetle, Anoplophora macularia, and cotton locust, Chondracis rosea. Fresh seeds are susceptible to attacks by ants. The wood borers Zeuzera spp. and Hypsiptla robusta cause severe damage to the wood. For disease control, lopping and pruning of branches should be avoided to prevent primary establishment of diseases. Infected trees should be removed as early as possible to prevent the spread of the disease and making trenches around groups of diseased trees to avoid root contact.

4. Information Source Links

• Beentje HJ. 1994. Kenya trees, shrubs and lianas. National Museums of Kenya.
• Bekele-Tesemma A, Birnie A, Tengnas B. 1993. Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia. Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU), Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA).
• Birnie A. 1997. What tree is that? A beginner’s guide to 40 trees in Kenya. Jacaranda designs Ltd.

Last updated.

10/02/2019 – 08:49

Credit: Biovision-Infonet, World AgroForestry

Local names:Amharic (botoro); English (markhamia); Luganda (nsambya,lusambya); Somali (sogdu); Swahili (mtalawanda,mgambo); Trade name (markhamia)

Ecology: A tropical African tree common in the lake basin and highland areas, to 2,000 m. It stands acid heavy clay soil, but not waterlogging; prefers red loam and has deep roots. Ecozones II-III

Botanic Description
Markhamia lutea is an upright evergreen tree 10-15 m high, with a narrow, irregular crown and long taproot. Bark light brown with fine vertical fissures.

Leaves compound, often in bunches, thin and wavy, each leaflet up to 10 cm, wider at the tip, often with round outgrowths at the base.

Flower buds yellow-green and furry, splitting down 1 side as flower emerges. Flowers bright yellow, in showy terminal clusters, each trumpet shaped, to 6 cm long, with 5 frilly lobes, the throat striped with orange-red.

Fruit very long, thin, brown capsules, to 75 cm in length, hanging in clusters and tending to spiral, splitting on the tree to release abundant seed with transparent wings, 2.5 cm long and yellow-whitish when mature.

The genus was named after Sir Clement Markham, who introduced the famous quinine-yielding cinchona into India. The specific name, ‘lutea’, is Latin for golden-yellow.

Biology: M. lutea trees flower for much of the year. In western Kenya, flowering occurs from August to September, followed by seeding in February to March, while east of Mt Kenya, the flowering period is December to January and the seeding period July to August. Fruits develop within 6 months of insect pollination.

Biophysical Limits: Altitude: 900-2000 m, Mean annual temperature: 12-27 deg. C, Mean annual rainfall: 800-2000 mm

Soil type: Trees prefer red loam soil but can tolerate well-drained, heavy, acidic clay soils.

Documented species distribution: Native: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda Exotic:

Management System: Plantation/ amenity/ agroforestry systems

Tree Management: Propagated by use of seedlings and wildings. Are fast growing and coppicing may be employed in their management. They take between 15 – 30 yrs to mature

M. lutea grows fast in good forest soil, and plants can attain growth rates of more than 2 m/year. They should be planted in a deep hole, as the roots are long. Trees can be pruned and pollarded to reduce shading and are coppiced when they are about 1.7 m in height. Pods should be collected from the trees after they turn grey.

Germplasm Management: Seed storage behaviour is orthodox, but seeds are better sown fresh. After extraction, seeds can be dried in the sun to 5-10% mc. Mature and properly dried seeds can be stored in hermetic storage at 3 deg. C for several years with no loss in viability. On average, there are about 75 000 seeds/kg.

Pests and Diseases
Young trees are often attacked by shootborers, resulting in crooked stems.

End Use: Apiculture: M. lutea provides good bee forage. Fuel: Trees are a source of firewood and produce good charcoal. Fuel wood is used to cure tobacco in western Kenya. Timber: The wood, which is fairly resistant to termites, is used for furniture, poles, posts, tool handles and boat building. Medicine: Leaves are known to have medicinal value.
Services: Erosion control: Recommended for use in soil-conservation.
Shade or shelter: The species provides useful shade and acts as a windbreak.
Soil improver: It provides mulch, which enhances soil-moisture retention and increases organic matter. Ornamental: Attractive and worth planting as a screen or background tree for gardens and on golf courses. Boundary/barrier/support: M. lutea poles can be used as props to support banana trees.

Remarks: The species is widely used in western Kenya. The wood is fairly termite resistant.

Sources

Orwa C, A Mutua, Kindt R , Jamnadass R, S Anthony. 2009 Agroforestree Database:a tree reference and selection guide version 4.0 (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/sites/treedbs/treedatabases.asp)

Ecology: The Sesbania spp survive waterlogging and fix nitrogen improving the soil fertility. Naturally, it distributed from Senegal to Somalia and south to South Africa. It’s all over tropical Africa and Asia. It tolerates acid and saline soil and is common in riverine vegetation and in Kenya, is found at the margin of fresh water lakes like Naivasha and Baringo and in seasonal swamps. Widely cultivated in western Kenya; 350- 1,900 m above sea level and Ecozones I – IV

Management System: May occur in dense stands, agroforestry (mixed farming system), conservation

Tree Management: The tree is very fast growing and pruning and short rotation is employed in their management. Propagation is by direct sowing at site or wilding and it takes 2 to 3 years to reach maturity.

End Uses: Firewood, poles, medicine (leaves and roots), fodder, shade,soil enrichment via nitrogen fixation,soil conservation (improved fallows), fibre, veterinary medicine and, soap (leaves)

Remarks: The species harbours rootknot nematodes and should therefore be avoided in combination with crops that are very sensitive to nematodes like banana & irish potatoes. Widely used in western Kenya, this tree has a great potential for soil improvement on small farms due to nitrogen fixation and leaf mulch.