Grasses and Forage Legumes

Unlike cereals and pulses, grasses and legume forages are not generally grown for their seed but to produce leafy forage for livestock. Consequently, seed crops of forage plants usually require different management from that required for pasture or hay crops. According to Kelly (1), this is a developing field of study, particularly with regard to the use of herbicides for weed control. Specialized harvesting equipment is also being devised, especially for the grasses and forage legumes grown in the tropics and subtropics. Agricultural chemicals in forage crops are being used to shorten the flowering stem to facilitate harvesting, to desiccate the matured crop to reduce moisture content before harvest (chemical desiccation), and to prevent shedding of ripe seed by the use of resins or polymers. Because research work on these aspects for most forages is still at an experimental stage, recommendations are not available for general or commercial use of these practices. Work in progress may provide additional tools of great benefit to forage seed growers.