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Establishment and management of lablab for feeding dairy cows Nutritive value of lablab The protein content of lablab is 1419%. The dry matter yield is about 10.9tons per hectare at flowering stage (about 110 days after germination of the seed), which is slightly above average when compared to many forage legumes. Lablab has more protein than grasses, however, the protein content decreases with maturity of the plants. Lablab as a livestock feed Lablab can be fed as fresh foliage, hay or silage. Lablab has the potential of alleviating nutrient deficiencies in poor quality diets especially during the dry season. Lablab can be mixed with Napier grass to feed dairy animals Fresh lablab forage should not be fed to milking animals within at least two hours before milking time. Wilting or drying lablab foliage before offering it to the cows helps to avoid “off-flavour” in the milk. This information is partly drawn from experiences from the project on “Crop-livestock integration for sustainable management of natural resources and building livelihoods resilience in Eastern and Central Africa” of the Livestock and Fisheries Programme of ASARECA Establishment and management of lablab for feeding dairy cows Establishment and management of lablab for feeding dairy cows Notes from experiences of researchers and farmers Farmers in Masaka district in Uganda have reported that dairy cows on their farms which were fed on a combination of diets of Napier grass-forage and legume mixture with 3kg per cow per day of Lablab hay increased milk production by 1-2 litres per cow, per day. Lablab is a dual-purpose legume traditionally grown as a pulse crop for human consumption in Kenya. Lablab flowers and tender young pods are also used as vegetable. Uses Lablab is used as a fodder legume. It is sown for feeding in the cut-and-carry systems and also used as green manure or cover crop. It can be intercropped with cereals such as maize and sorghum to retain soil fertility and improve the quality of the legume-stover mixture which can be used to feed livestock when the cereal has been harvested. Establishment Lablab grows well where annual rainfall is 650-3,000mm. It is drought tolerant when established but loses leaves during prolonged A farmer cuts lablab for feeding his dairy cows dry periods. It tolerates short periods of flooding, but is intolerant to poor drainage and prolonged floods. As a single crop, seeding rates for Lablab are between 12 and 20 kg/ha. Rows should be 60-120 cm apart, with 30-60cm between plants. Lablab germinates and stabilises easily when sown into sub-surface soil to a depth of at least 5-10 cm. Management For optimum feeding value, the first cutting should be done at the beginning of flowering. The following cuttings provide forage with more stem than leaf, which has lower feed value. The recommended cutting height is about 30cm above ground level and above the branches to allow for regrowth. If properly cut, it is possible to harvest lablab foliage (leaves and young stems) three times a year.