Clitoria ternatea L.
BUTTERFLY PEA !!
BOTANICAL NAMES: Clitoria ternatea L.
FAMILY: Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
SUB FAMILY: Faboideae
TRIBE: Phaseoleae
SUB TRIBE: Clitoriinae.
Also placed in: Papilionaceae
COMMON NAMES : Butterfly-pea, Blue-pea, Cordofan-pea, Butterfly Bean, Clitoria, Aparajita, Butterfly Pea, Conch flower, Gokarni, Girikarnika, Koyal, Dintena
SYNONYMOUS NAMES : Clitoria albiflora Mattei
Clitoria bracteata Poir.
Clitoria mearnsii De Wild.
Clitoria tanganicensis Micheli
Clitoria zanzibarensis Vatke
ECOLOGY and DISTRIBUTION:Clitoria ternatea may have originated from Latin America or Asia but is now naturalized in all the semi-arid and sub-humid tropics of Asia, Africa and Australia (Staples, 1992). A fast summer-growing legume, it can cover the soil within no more than 30-40 days after sowing and yield mature pods within 110 to 150 days. It is naturally found in grassland, open woodland, bush, riverine vegetation, and disturbed places.
Clitoria ternatea grows within 20°N and 24°S and from sea level up to an altitude of 1600-1800 m, and in equatorial Africa up to 2000 m (FAO, 2012; Ecocrop, 2012; Cook et al., 2005, Staples, 1992). Butterfly pea does better where average temperature is about 19-28°C and where annual rainfall ranges from 700 to 1500 mm. However, it tolerates temperatures as low as 15°C and even some frost as it may regrow from the stems or from the plant base, provided it is already woody when the frosting occurs. It does well under irrigation but has only a low tolerance of flooding or waterlogging. It has also some drought tolerance and can grow in places where rainfall is as low as 400-500 mm. It can survive a 5-6 month drought in the drier tropics. Clitoria ternatea can grow on a wide range of soils but is particularly adapted to shallow, heavy clay and sodic soils (pH 5.5-8.9). It thrives in full sunlight but can also grow under light shade in rubber and coconut plantations (FAO, 2012; Ecocrop, 2012; Cook et al., 2005, Staples, 1992.
BIOLOGY DESCRIPTION>>C. ternatea is a vigorous, strongly persistent, herbaceous perennial legume; stems fine twining, sparsely pubescent, suberect at base, 0.5-3 m long.
>>Leaves pinnate with 5 or 7 leaflets; petioles 1.5-3 cm long; stipules persistent, narrowly triangular, 1-6 mm long, subulate, prominently 3-nerved; rachis 1-7 cm long; stipels filiform, to 2 mm long; leaflets elliptic, ovate or nearly orbicular, 1.5-5 cm long, 0.3-3 cm wide, with apex acute or rounded, often notched, and base cuneate or rounded, both surfaces sparsely appressed pubescent.
>>Flowers axillary, single or paired; colour ranges from white, mauve, light blue to dark blue; pedicles 4-9 mm long, twisted through 180º so that the standard is inverted. Bracteoles persistent, broadly ovate or rounded, 4-12 mm long. Calyx 1.7-2.2 cm long with a few fine hairs; tube campanulate, 0.8-1.2 cm long; lobes triangular or oblong, 0.7-1 cm long, acute or acuminate. Standard obovate , funnel-shaped, 2-5.5 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, notched or rounded at apex, blue with a pale yellow base, or entirely white, a few fine hairs at apex.
>>Pods linear-oblong, flattened, 4-13 cm long, 0.8-1.2 cm wide, with margins thickened, and style persistent, sparsely pubescent when mature, pale brown, dehiscent when dry. Seeds 8-11/pod, oblong , somewhat flattened, 4.5-7 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, olive brown to almost black, shiny, often mottled, minutely pitted; 23,000 seeds/kg.
>>Morphology can vary with different growing conditions. Cv. Milgarra, which has no significant distinguishing morphological characters, is normally towards the upper end of the size ranges of descriptions in the taxonomic literature.
USES>>Clitoria Ternatea is one of four herbs traditionally used as Shanka Pushpi, an Ayurvedic medicine used to promote neurological health. It shows promise in animal models for its memory enhancing effects, and has a wide spectrum of neurological benefits (anti-depression, anxiolytic, anti-pyretic) yet for these latter claims preliminary evidence suggests it isn't overly potent.
>>Some other preliminary evidence suggests that it might be healthy for the liver and circulating lipoproteins, as well as a possible benefit diabetics by inhibiting glucose uptake from the diet. However, these claims are much too early to guess their practical relevance on.
>>Toxicological studies on rodents and historical usage (partially confounded with the three other herbs) suggest that Clitoria Ternatea is safe, but limited evidence exists currently.
>>This plant’s root is specially used for leucoderma. It is also considered as Visahara.
>>External uses:
It alleviates swelling and pain. It has haemostatic action hence it is ued in piles specially bleeding piles. Piles are cleaned with the decoction and the paste of whole plant is applied over it. Leaf juice is used as nasal drops in headache. Oil boiled with dhamasa is used for massage in rheumatoi4 arthritis..
Decoction is used for gargling in stomatitis and for cleaning wounds. It prevents pus formation.
>>Internal uses:
1.) Nervous system : It has a tranquillizing effect on the brain hence it is used in symptoms like syncope, vertigo and brain weakness.
2.)Digestive system : It is an antiemetic. antidypsetic. mild-laxative and cholagogue Therefore it is used in emesis. dyspepsia, constipation jaundice and piles. Kapha and pitta work together in the lower part of the stomach.It is used in healing ulcers of pylorus duodenum etc.
3.)Circulatory system : Being haemostatic and blood purifier, it is useful in haemorrhagic disorders and vatarakta. Hot infusion of dhamasa is given to prevent small pox.
4.)Respiratory system : It is used in common cold, cough, asthma as it acts as an expectorant and reduces the irritation of respiratory organs. Besides this, whole plant is used for smoking. Decoction is used for gargling in throat manifestations
5.) Mansavaha srotas : Dhamasa is applied over neck stiffness.
6.)Urinary system : It increases urination. Decoction is used in dysuria.
7.)Reproductive system : Being spermatogenic, it is given in semen debility
>>Skin : It can be used in various skin disorders by.
Temperature : Febrifuge and refrigerant by bitter and cold properties. Bitter taste is the best for fever. It can be used for cooling effect. It alleviates symptoms like vomiting, thirst and burning sensation etc. which are caused by vata and kapha in fever.
Satmikaran : It increases the physical strength and weight by unctuous and sweet
ECOLOGY>>Soil requirements:: Adapted to a wide range of soil types (from sands to heavy clays) of moderate fertility but is extremely well adapted to heavy clay alkaline soils, and especially on clay soils which are too shallow for leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala ). Adapted to pH 4.5-8.7 but prefers medium to high pH . Some suggested tolerance to salinity, but lower than, for example, siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum ).
>>Moisture:: Requires summer rainfall of 500 mm over 3 months but grows best between 700-1,500mm AAR. Drought tolerant and will survive in years which have only 400 mm rainfall and a dry season of 5-6 months or longer even if heavily grazed. Some tolerance of short term flooding but not prolonged inundation or waterlogging .
>>Temperature:: Warm (wet) season growth up to 2,000 m in equatorial Africa and to latitude 24ºS. Tolerates average daily temperatures down to 15ºC but not suited to districts with severe or frequent frosts. Production is limited more by low average daily temperatures or a short growing season than by light or even heavy frosts. Will regrow from stems following light frost or from the plant base after heavy frost. Essential to establish mature woody plants prior to frost, some of which will survive, depending on severity of the frost.
>>Light:: Normally grown in full sunlight but moderately shade-tolerant, being used as a cover crop in coconut plantations and under rubber.
>>Reproductive development:: Flowers can develop in 4-6 weeks after sowing and continue to flower while temperature and moisture are adequate. Flowering can occur throughout the year given sufficient soil moisture and frost-free conditions. Of 58 accessions planted in January at 19ºS, first flowering occurred 7-11 weeks after sowing. Subsequent flowering events overlapped pod set and fill. Predominantly self-fertile but with some out-crossing.
>>Defoliation:: Tolerant of heavy rotational grazing, but not constant heavy defoliation. Frequent trampling by cattle will damage the stems. Growing tips and axils of stems must be left to develop new leaves. Because of its high palatability it is better managed as short-term pasture under rotational grazing. Optimum cutting interval of 56 days at heights of 5 or 10 cm for total yield of DM and protein.
It has persisted for 14 years and spread under heavy dry season grazing in infertile vertisols in northwestern Queensland, Australia. For persistence, must be allowed to set seed. In protein bank, cattle should be allowed to graze for only 2-3 hours each day.
>>Fire:: Temperature and duration of the fire (governed by fuel load, air temperature, soil moisture and wind) will largely decide survival of butterfly pea after fire. A hot fire has the ability to kill plants completely. Cooler fires may kill some stems, or all above ground material, in which case the plant may reshoot from surviving stems or from the plant base. Fire destroys litter, reduces cover and opens the canopy to light, which can increase the germination and establishment of both weeds and butterfly pea seedlings.
AGRONOMYGuidelines for the establishment and management of sown pastures.
>>Establishment:
Best results are achieved by planting into soil moisture (2-6 cm), in narrow rows (15-50 cm apart) at about 2-4 kg/ha for long-term pastures and about 6 kg/ha for short-term pastures to achieve plant densities of 5-10 plants/m². Excellent results can be achieved when sown as a crop using conventional planters and presswheels to achieve good soil/seed contact.
For optimum yield as a green manure crop, use a seeding rate of 12 kg/ha. As a component of grass-legume pastures, can also be planted behind a blade plough or using a "crocodile seeder ". Soil temperatures between 16 and 36ºC are required for good establishment. Weed competition will delay establishment but, once established, Clitoria can smother most weeds.
Seed should be inoculated with Tropical Group M rhizobium. Mechanically scarify seed with a high hard seed content (>30%) when soil conditions favour immediate germination, or use unscarified seed with a high hard seed percentage when staggered germination is desired, eg. planting behind a blade plough or when using a crocodile planter. Butterfly pea establishment is considered a much lower risk on heavy textured soils because of the large seed size and greater weed tolerance than alternatives such as leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala ). Use of pre-emergent herbicide such as imazethapyr, 2-8 weeks prior to sowing is desirable to achieve successful control of weeds during establishment in old cropping areas.
>>Fertiliser:
Not normally used when sown on suitable soils, but P and S may be required on infertile soils.
>>Compatibility (with other species):
Rapid climbing growth suggests that Clitoria will combine better with tall and tussock grasses than with creeping ones.
It has been used as a leguminous mulch within elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum ) to improve the grass protein levels. When grown together, Clitoria increased total forage protein content and total DM without reducing yield of the grass .
Sown as a pure stand as short-term (2-3 year) rotation with crops.
COMPANION SPECIES>>Grasses: Has been grown succesfully with elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum ), and forage sorghums (Sorghum bicolor) and millets as well as Panicum maximum . Also sown with pangola (Digitaria eriantha ) as a pasture , and Andropogon gayanus and Dichanthium aristatum . It has been grown successfully with Cenchrus ciliarus and Chloris gayana as a revegetation species on coal mines.
>>Pests and diseases: Fungal leaf diseases (e.g. Cercospora, Colletotrichum, Odium and Rhizoctonia) have been recorded in cool wet weather but rarely as a serious problem. Minor susceptibility to various leaf-eating caterpillars and grasshoppers. Most lines (variably) susceptible to root nematode Meloidgyne incognita.
>>Ability to spread
Will not spread in grazed pastures. Commonly C. ternatea pastures are sown as pure legume pastures and are progressively invaded by vigorous pasture grasses as soil-N levels build up.
>>Weed potential
Natural spread is unlikely as the plants are very palatable and the seedlings do not compete well with existing vegetation.
FEEDING VALUE>>Nutritive value: Excellent nutritive value with high protein and digestibility (up to 80%) with nitrogen concentrations of 3.0% N for leaf and 1.5% N for whole plant. Leaf had consistently low ADF (c. 20%) and high N (c. 4%) in Queensland.
>>Palatability/
>>Toxicity: Seeds are a strong purgative.
PRODUCTION POTENCIAL>>Dry matter
1-15 t/ha/yr DM; cv Milgarra yielded 4,200 kg/ha DM after 4 month's growth. Under dryland conditions in the sub-humid tropics, ley pastures of cv. Milgarra in cropping systems generally produce 2-6 t/ha/year DM.
>>Animal production
Liveweight gains of 0.7-1.3 kg/ha/day recorded for steers grazing pure Clitoria pastures in central Queensland, Australia. In northern Australia, cattle grazing para grass (Brachiaria mutica ) and C. ternatea pasture gained 0.68 kg/head/day, a higher gain than for stylo (Stylosanthes) or centro (Centrosema ) mixtures with para grass .
>>Genetics/breeding
Diploid 2n = 16; largely self-fertile (eg. cv. Milgarra) but some accessions must be at least partially outcrossing as segregating genotypes have been identified within natural populations. Homozygous blue and white and heterozygous blue-flowering genotypes have been identified. Emasculation is easily performed with tweezers to make crosses, however no breeding programs have been conducted.
In Australia, the morphological and agronomic variation of 58 accessions of C. ternatea have been described (Reid and Sinclair 1980) and the adaptation and agronomy of introductions in northern Australia have been reported.
Accessions have been evaluated for adaptation to cooler, sub-tropical environments and for persistence under grazing.
>>Seed production
Hand harvest where economical, but can achieve 700 kg/ha by mechanical harvesting methods (direct-heading). Irregular pod maturity affects best time of harvest as some pods will have shattered while flowers and green pods are still present.
HERBICIDE EFFECTSHerbicides such as bentazone (post-emergence) and imazethapyr (post-planting) are commonly used to control weeds during early establishment in northern Australia. Invading grasses may also be controlled using selective grass killers such as fluazifop or sethoxydim.
STRENGHTS>Easy to establish, including on heavy clays and surface-crusting soils.
>Palatable and high nutritional value.
>Good for fertility restoration.
>High forage and seed production.
>Moderate tolerance of salinity and sodicity .
LIMITATIONS>Requires moderate fertility soils.
>Requires careful grazing management for persistence.
>Generally requires replanting every 5-8 years due to increasing dominance of invading grasses.
RESOURCES>> http://
>>http://www.feedipedia.org/
>>http://
>>http://davesgarden.com/
>>http://
>>http://en.wikipedia.org/
>>http://
>>http://examine.com/
BOTANICAL NAMES: Clitoria ternatea L.
FAMILY: Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
SUB FAMILY: Faboideae
TRIBE: Phaseoleae
SUB TRIBE: Clitoriinae.
Also placed in: Papilionaceae
COMMON NAMES : Butterfly-pea, Blue-pea, Cordofan-pea, Butterfly Bean, Clitoria, Aparajita, Butterfly Pea, Conch flower, Gokarni, Girikarnika, Koyal, Dintena
SYNONYMOUS NAMES : Clitoria albiflora Mattei
Clitoria bracteata Poir.
Clitoria mearnsii De Wild.
Clitoria tanganicensis Micheli
Clitoria zanzibarensis Vatke
ECOLOGY and DISTRIBUTION:Clitoria ternatea may have originated from Latin America or Asia but is now naturalized in all the semi-arid and sub-humid tropics of Asia, Africa and Australia (Staples, 1992). A fast summer-growing legume, it can cover the soil within no more than 30-40 days after sowing and yield mature pods within 110 to 150 days. It is naturally found in grassland, open woodland, bush, riverine vegetation, and disturbed places.
Clitoria ternatea grows within 20°N and 24°S and from sea level up to an altitude of 1600-1800 m, and in equatorial Africa up to 2000 m (FAO, 2012; Ecocrop, 2012; Cook et al., 2005, Staples, 1992). Butterfly pea does better where average temperature is about 19-28°C and where annual rainfall ranges from 700 to 1500 mm. However, it tolerates temperatures as low as 15°C and even some frost as it may regrow from the stems or from the plant base, provided it is already woody when the frosting occurs. It does well under irrigation but has only a low tolerance of flooding or waterlogging. It has also some drought tolerance and can grow in places where rainfall is as low as 400-500 mm. It can survive a 5-6 month drought in the drier tropics. Clitoria ternatea can grow on a wide range of soils but is particularly adapted to shallow, heavy clay and sodic soils (pH 5.5-8.9). It thrives in full sunlight but can also grow under light shade in rubber and coconut plantations (FAO, 2012; Ecocrop, 2012; Cook et al., 2005, Staples, 1992.
BIOLOGY DESCRIPTION>>C. ternatea is a vigorous, strongly persistent, herbaceous perennial legume; stems fine twining, sparsely pubescent, suberect at base, 0.5-3 m long.
>>Leaves pinnate with 5 or 7 leaflets; petioles 1.5-3 cm long; stipules persistent, narrowly triangular, 1-6 mm long, subulate, prominently 3-nerved; rachis 1-7 cm long; stipels filiform, to 2 mm long; leaflets elliptic, ovate or nearly orbicular, 1.5-5 cm long, 0.3-3 cm wide, with apex acute or rounded, often notched, and base cuneate or rounded, both surfaces sparsely appressed pubescent.
>>Flowers axillary, single or paired; colour ranges from white, mauve, light blue to dark blue; pedicles 4-9 mm long, twisted through 180º so that the standard is inverted. Bracteoles persistent, broadly ovate or rounded, 4-12 mm long. Calyx 1.7-2.2 cm long with a few fine hairs; tube campanulate, 0.8-1.2 cm long; lobes triangular or oblong, 0.7-1 cm long, acute or acuminate. Standard obovate , funnel-shaped, 2-5.5 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, notched or rounded at apex, blue with a pale yellow base, or entirely white, a few fine hairs at apex.
>>Pods linear-oblong, flattened, 4-13 cm long, 0.8-1.2 cm wide, with margins thickened, and style persistent, sparsely pubescent when mature, pale brown, dehiscent when dry. Seeds 8-11/pod, oblong , somewhat flattened, 4.5-7 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, olive brown to almost black, shiny, often mottled, minutely pitted; 23,000 seeds/kg.
>>Morphology can vary with different growing conditions. Cv. Milgarra, which has no significant distinguishing morphological characters, is normally towards the upper end of the size ranges of descriptions in the taxonomic literature.
USES>>Clitoria Ternatea is one of four herbs traditionally used as Shanka Pushpi, an Ayurvedic medicine used to promote neurological health. It shows promise in animal models for its memory enhancing effects, and has a wide spectrum of neurological benefits (anti-depression, anxiolytic, anti-pyretic) yet for these latter claims preliminary evidence suggests it isn't overly potent.
>>Some other preliminary evidence suggests that it might be healthy for the liver and circulating lipoproteins, as well as a possible benefit diabetics by inhibiting glucose uptake from the diet. However, these claims are much too early to guess their practical relevance on.
>>Toxicological studies on rodents and historical usage (partially confounded with the three other herbs) suggest that Clitoria Ternatea is safe, but limited evidence exists currently.
>>This plant’s root is specially used for leucoderma. It is also considered as Visahara.
>>External uses:
It alleviates swelling and pain. It has haemostatic action hence it is ued in piles specially bleeding piles. Piles are cleaned with the decoction and the paste of whole plant is applied over it. Leaf juice is used as nasal drops in headache. Oil boiled with dhamasa is used for massage in rheumatoi4 arthritis..
Decoction is used for gargling in stomatitis and for cleaning wounds. It prevents pus formation.
>>Internal uses:
1.) Nervous system : It has a tranquillizing effect on the brain hence it is used in symptoms like syncope, vertigo and brain weakness.
2.)Digestive system : It is an antiemetic. antidypsetic. mild-laxative and cholagogue Therefore it is used in emesis. dyspepsia, constipation jaundice and piles. Kapha and pitta work together in the lower part of the stomach.It is used in healing ulcers of pylorus duodenum etc.
3.)Circulatory system : Being haemostatic and blood purifier, it is useful in haemorrhagic disorders and vatarakta. Hot infusion of dhamasa is given to prevent small pox.
4.)Respiratory system : It is used in common cold, cough, asthma as it acts as an expectorant and reduces the irritation of respiratory organs. Besides this, whole plant is used for smoking. Decoction is used for gargling in throat manifestations
5.) Mansavaha srotas : Dhamasa is applied over neck stiffness.
6.)Urinary system : It increases urination. Decoction is used in dysuria.
7.)Reproductive system : Being spermatogenic, it is given in semen debility
>>Skin : It can be used in various skin disorders by.
Temperature : Febrifuge and refrigerant by bitter and cold properties. Bitter taste is the best for fever. It can be used for cooling effect. It alleviates symptoms like vomiting, thirst and burning sensation etc. which are caused by vata and kapha in fever.
Satmikaran : It increases the physical strength and weight by unctuous and sweet
ECOLOGY>>Soil requirements:: Adapted to a wide range of soil types (from sands to heavy clays) of moderate fertility but is extremely well adapted to heavy clay alkaline soils, and especially on clay soils which are too shallow for leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala ). Adapted to pH 4.5-8.7 but prefers medium to high pH . Some suggested tolerance to salinity, but lower than, for example, siratro (Macroptilium atropurpureum ).
>>Moisture:: Requires summer rainfall of 500 mm over 3 months but grows best between 700-1,500mm AAR. Drought tolerant and will survive in years which have only 400 mm rainfall and a dry season of 5-6 months or longer even if heavily grazed. Some tolerance of short term flooding but not prolonged inundation or waterlogging .
>>Temperature:: Warm (wet) season growth up to 2,000 m in equatorial Africa and to latitude 24ºS. Tolerates average daily temperatures down to 15ºC but not suited to districts with severe or frequent frosts. Production is limited more by low average daily temperatures or a short growing season than by light or even heavy frosts. Will regrow from stems following light frost or from the plant base after heavy frost. Essential to establish mature woody plants prior to frost, some of which will survive, depending on severity of the frost.
>>Light:: Normally grown in full sunlight but moderately shade-tolerant, being used as a cover crop in coconut plantations and under rubber.
>>Reproductive development:: Flowers can develop in 4-6 weeks after sowing and continue to flower while temperature and moisture are adequate. Flowering can occur throughout the year given sufficient soil moisture and frost-free conditions. Of 58 accessions planted in January at 19ºS, first flowering occurred 7-11 weeks after sowing. Subsequent flowering events overlapped pod set and fill. Predominantly self-fertile but with some out-crossing.
>>Defoliation:: Tolerant of heavy rotational grazing, but not constant heavy defoliation. Frequent trampling by cattle will damage the stems. Growing tips and axils of stems must be left to develop new leaves. Because of its high palatability it is better managed as short-term pasture under rotational grazing. Optimum cutting interval of 56 days at heights of 5 or 10 cm for total yield of DM and protein.
It has persisted for 14 years and spread under heavy dry season grazing in infertile vertisols in northwestern Queensland, Australia. For persistence, must be allowed to set seed. In protein bank, cattle should be allowed to graze for only 2-3 hours each day.
>>Fire:: Temperature and duration of the fire (governed by fuel load, air temperature, soil moisture and wind) will largely decide survival of butterfly pea after fire. A hot fire has the ability to kill plants completely. Cooler fires may kill some stems, or all above ground material, in which case the plant may reshoot from surviving stems or from the plant base. Fire destroys litter, reduces cover and opens the canopy to light, which can increase the germination and establishment of both weeds and butterfly pea seedlings.
AGRONOMYGuidelines for the establishment and management of sown pastures.
>>Establishment:
Best results are achieved by planting into soil moisture (2-6 cm), in narrow rows (15-50 cm apart) at about 2-4 kg/ha for long-term pastures and about 6 kg/ha for short-term pastures to achieve plant densities of 5-10 plants/m². Excellent results can be achieved when sown as a crop using conventional planters and presswheels to achieve good soil/seed contact.
For optimum yield as a green manure crop, use a seeding rate of 12 kg/ha. As a component of grass-legume pastures, can also be planted behind a blade plough or using a "crocodile seeder ". Soil temperatures between 16 and 36ºC are required for good establishment. Weed competition will delay establishment but, once established, Clitoria can smother most weeds.
Seed should be inoculated with Tropical Group M rhizobium. Mechanically scarify seed with a high hard seed content (>30%) when soil conditions favour immediate germination, or use unscarified seed with a high hard seed percentage when staggered germination is desired, eg. planting behind a blade plough or when using a crocodile planter. Butterfly pea establishment is considered a much lower risk on heavy textured soils because of the large seed size and greater weed tolerance than alternatives such as leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala ). Use of pre-emergent herbicide such as imazethapyr, 2-8 weeks prior to sowing is desirable to achieve successful control of weeds during establishment in old cropping areas.
>>Fertiliser:
Not normally used when sown on suitable soils, but P and S may be required on infertile soils.
>>Compatibility (with other species):
Rapid climbing growth suggests that Clitoria will combine better with tall and tussock grasses than with creeping ones.
It has been used as a leguminous mulch within elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum ) to improve the grass protein levels. When grown together, Clitoria increased total forage protein content and total DM without reducing yield of the grass .
Sown as a pure stand as short-term (2-3 year) rotation with crops.
COMPANION SPECIES>>Grasses: Has been grown succesfully with elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum ), and forage sorghums (Sorghum bicolor) and millets as well as Panicum maximum . Also sown with pangola (Digitaria eriantha ) as a pasture , and Andropogon gayanus and Dichanthium aristatum . It has been grown successfully with Cenchrus ciliarus and Chloris gayana as a revegetation species on coal mines.
>>Pests and diseases: Fungal leaf diseases (e.g. Cercospora, Colletotrichum, Odium and Rhizoctonia) have been recorded in cool wet weather but rarely as a serious problem. Minor susceptibility to various leaf-eating caterpillars and grasshoppers. Most lines (variably) susceptible to root nematode Meloidgyne incognita.
>>Ability to spread
Will not spread in grazed pastures. Commonly C. ternatea pastures are sown as pure legume pastures and are progressively invaded by vigorous pasture grasses as soil-N levels build up.
>>Weed potential
Natural spread is unlikely as the plants are very palatable and the seedlings do not compete well with existing vegetation.
FEEDING VALUE>>Nutritive value: Excellent nutritive value with high protein and digestibility (up to 80%) with nitrogen concentrations of 3.0% N for leaf and 1.5% N for whole plant. Leaf had consistently low ADF (c. 20%) and high N (c. 4%) in Queensland.
>>Palatability/
>>Toxicity: Seeds are a strong purgative.
PRODUCTION POTENCIAL>>Dry matter
1-15 t/ha/yr DM; cv Milgarra yielded 4,200 kg/ha DM after 4 month's growth. Under dryland conditions in the sub-humid tropics, ley pastures of cv. Milgarra in cropping systems generally produce 2-6 t/ha/year DM.
>>Animal production
Liveweight gains of 0.7-1.3 kg/ha/day recorded for steers grazing pure Clitoria pastures in central Queensland, Australia. In northern Australia, cattle grazing para grass (Brachiaria mutica ) and C. ternatea pasture gained 0.68 kg/head/day, a higher gain than for stylo (Stylosanthes) or centro (Centrosema ) mixtures with para grass .
>>Genetics/breeding
Diploid 2n = 16; largely self-fertile (eg. cv. Milgarra) but some accessions must be at least partially outcrossing as segregating genotypes have been identified within natural populations. Homozygous blue and white and heterozygous blue-flowering genotypes have been identified. Emasculation is easily performed with tweezers to make crosses, however no breeding programs have been conducted.
In Australia, the morphological and agronomic variation of 58 accessions of C. ternatea have been described (Reid and Sinclair 1980) and the adaptation and agronomy of introductions in northern Australia have been reported.
Accessions have been evaluated for adaptation to cooler, sub-tropical environments and for persistence under grazing.
>>Seed production
Hand harvest where economical, but can achieve 700 kg/ha by mechanical harvesting methods (direct-heading). Irregular pod maturity affects best time of harvest as some pods will have shattered while flowers and green pods are still present.
HERBICIDE EFFECTSHerbicides such as bentazone (post-emergence) and imazethapyr (post-planting) are commonly used to control weeds during early establishment in northern Australia. Invading grasses may also be controlled using selective grass killers such as fluazifop or sethoxydim.
STRENGHTS>Easy to establish, including on heavy clays and surface-crusting soils.
>Palatable and high nutritional value.
>Good for fertility restoration.
>High forage and seed production.
>Moderate tolerance of salinity and sodicity .
LIMITATIONS>Requires moderate fertility soils.
>Requires careful grazing management for persistence.
>Generally requires replanting every 5-8 years due to increasing dominance of invading grasses.
RESOURCES>> http://
>>http://www.feedipedia.org/
>>http://
>>http://davesgarden.com/
>>http://
>>http://en.wikipedia.org/
>>http://
>>http://examine.com/
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