Review of establishment practices of &lt;i&gt;Leucaena leucocephala&lt;/i&gt; cv. Tarramba in West Timor, Indonesia

Jacob Nulik,Debora Kana Hau

doi:10.17138/tgft(7)136-140

Abstract

Keynote paper presented at the International Leucaena Conference, 1‒3 November 2018, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.With increasing cattle production in East Nusa Tenggara Province there is an urgent need to increase plantings of high quality forage such as Tarramba leucaena. This requires knowledge and practical skills by the stakeholders to achieve reliable plant establishment. As part of a study of Tarramba leucaena adoption in East Nusa Tenggara, it became clear that the best method to establish leucaena was by transplanting 1‒2-month-old seedlings at the beginning of the rainy season that had been pre-prepared in poly-bags at a nursery. However, with varied conditions at the study locations, such as the absence of a dry season water source, farmers have used other methods, including: direct seeding; poly-bag seedlings planted later in the wet season; or older bare-root seedlings harvested from a high density nursery or from volunteer seedlings growing between rows of established leucaena. This paper elaborates on the different methods of establishment in farmer plantings in Kupang District (West Timor region of East Nusa Tenggara Province), Indonesia.

Highlights

Adoption of the drought-resistant high-quality forage tree legume leucaena
As part of a study of Tarramba leucaena adoption in East Nusa Tenggara, it became clear that the best method to establish leucaena was by transplanting 1‒2-month-old seedlings at the beginning of the rainy season that had been pre-prepared in poly-bags at a nursery
With varied conditions at the study locations, such as the absence of a dry season water source, farmers have used other methods, including: direct seeding; poly-bag seedlings planted later in the wet season; or older bare-root seedlings harvested from a high-density nursery or from volunteer seedlings growing between rows of established leucaena

Summary

Introduction

Adoption of the drought-resistant high-quality forage tree legume leucaena Tarramba) for cattle fattening is increasingly common in eastern Indonesia, especially in the Fatuleu subdistricts of West Timor. Earlier studies (Nulik et al 2013) showed that the most successful method was planting of seeds in poly-bags 1‒2 months before transplanting seedlings into the field once the rainy season had commenced in November‒January. The Tunas Muda farmer group (Bilboto hamlet, Camplong II village, Fatuleu subdistrict), located in an area where availability of water was severely restricted during the dry season, waited until the early rainy season before poly-bag seedlings could be prepared for transplanting during February-March. A review of modified establishment methods was conducted on several project sites where many new farmers had planted leucaena in West Timor, especially in Oebola Dalam and Camplong II villages in Fatuleu subdistrict, and in Nunsaen village in Central Fatuleu subdistrict. The objective was to observe how farmers had adapted their planting techniques to suit the various climatic and edaphic conditions and still achieve successful establishment of Tarramba leucaena

Climate and soils of eastern Indonesia

Current establishment techniques

Direct seeding

Conclusions