Yield Trials of Leucaena in the U. S. Virgin Islands

Abstract

The yield of 10 strains of Leucaena from widely separated regions in the Tropics was determined in replicated field trials. Yields varied from 3 to 8 tons of dry forage per acre per year between strains; these differences in yield are significant. The superiority of strains of L. leucocephala from Guatemala, El Salvador, Australia, and Peru is shown. Annual yields of protein varied from 832 to 2,550 pounds per acre. The protein content of dry forage ranged from 14 percent for L. esculenta from Mexico to 16.2 for a strain of L. leucocephala from the U.S. Virgin Islands. Any of these strains, producing 5 to 10 tons of dry forage and a ton of protein per acre annually, would serve as an excellent protein source for livestock enterprises in the dry Tropics.