Lost Crops of Africa Volume II: Vegetables (2006) / Chapter Skim
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10 Lablab
10 Lablab
Pages 190-205
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From page 191... ...
The fact that little or no help is being provided this food plant in its home territory, where malnutrition is chronic, is more than distressing. Making the situation particularly ironic is the reality that this local counterpart of the soybean possesses qualities that could prove exceptionally valuable for Africa's rural development and environmental stability.
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From page 192... ...
Tropical botany publications typically describe lablab as being of "probable Asian origin." On the surface that seems correct; the plant certainly finds its greatest development in South Asia and Southeast Asia. However, the center of diversity of genus Lablab is Africa, so there should be little uncertainty over its ultimate biological birthplace.
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From page 193... ...
Yet this local counterpart of the soybean possesses qualities that could prove exceptionally valuable for nutritional well-being, rural development, and environmental stability almost throughout its continent of origin. Glenn Kopp/Missouri Botanical PlantFinder mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder
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From page 194... ...
Beyond all its uses for food and fodder, the plant can be used advantageously to provide organic matter and fix soil nitrogen; thereby improving subsequent crop yields in a cheap and environmentally friendly manner. It is not inconceivable that it could become an essential part of certain sustainable farming systems.
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From page 195... ...
It is included in the traditional Kikuyu dish called imo, a mixture including such things as maize, beans, bananas, potatoes or green vegetables all boiled down into a tasty paste. In Egypt lablab seeds are sometimes substituted for broad beans in preparing the fried bean cake called tanniah.
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From page 196... ...
Certain varieties of what they call "hyacinth bean" are renowned for their long, bright, showy, purple blossoms. In a very clever initiative, the Government of Guyana encourages city dwellers to grow ornamental varieties along fence lines to form hedges that provide protein for the family table as well as a pretty prospect for the passerby.
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From page 197... ...
Other improved cultivars such as Co-6, Co-7, and Co-8, which can be grown year-round, produce pods 60 days after sowing and continue up to 120 days in South India. Mature seeds are normally harvested 150 to 210 days after sowing, but this depends upon the cultivar and the season of sowing (i.e.
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From page 198... ...
When grown as a forage, lablab can provide both high seed yields and high biomass yields. In experimental trials in northern Australia, four accessions yielded over 4 tons of dry seed per hectare.5 One of these, a commercially registered variety called `Highworth,' consistently provides over 1.5 tons of seed per hectare in commercial cultivation as well as 5-11 tons (dry weight)
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From page 199... ...
Africa does not use the vegetable type to any great degree. But, as noted, the forage types are already there and smallholder farmers have begun using multipurpose legumes in rotations in recent years.
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From page 200... ...
recent paper describes the available germplasm and its diversity.7 One of the world's largest lablab-seed collections is at the International Livestock Centre in Addis Ababa. And a seed collection in Kenya was the source of the lablabs now widely used in Australia.
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From page 201... ...
But in developing forage types, attention should be given to several special features: dry matter yield and its distribution through the year, palatability and feeding value, and compatibility as an intercrop with crop species to improve stover/lablab grazing quality. Food Technology Research into the feeding value of the seeds for humans and livestock (not overlooking poultry and pigs)
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From page 202... ...
A few in widespread use are: English: bonavist, chicharos, chink, Egyptian bean, Indian bean, hyacinth bean India: seem, sim, pharao, val, anunula, ararai, chapprada, chikkudu, field bean, mochair, parta East Africa: fiwi Sudan: lubia bean, kashrengeig Ethiopia: amora-guaya Philippines: agaya, apikak, batao, hab Indonesia: kerana Thailand: tua nang Malaysia: kara-karci Myanmar: pegyi 8 The literature contains at least 26 separate botanical names for what now seem to be different forms of this plant. Many articles published in recent decades use the names Dolichos lablab and Lablab niger.
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From page 203... ...
Beyond Africa Lablab is most widely grown in South Asia and Southeast Asia (for instance, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea)
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From page 204... ...
When grown as a market-garden crop for the production of the immature pods it requires watering or frequent rains throughout its growing period. Seed production can be a problem in regions with high humidity.
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