What is desmodium used for?
Based on both the Chinese and Indian system of medicine, most of Desmodium species can be used to treat kinds of diseases such as pyrexia, rheumatism, ostealgia, hemoptysis, cough, abscess, common cold, wounds, icteric hepatitis, pharyngitis, infantile malnutrition, dysentery, urinary diseases, parotitis, cholecystitis …
How is desmodium dispersed?
The modified legume is a loment, consisting of (1) 2 or more 1-seeded, flat, indehiscent segments which are ultimately dispersed as separate units. These are covered with tiny hooked hairs and readily attach to fur or clothes.
How does desmodium grow in Kenya?
Desmodium can be grown between rows of Napier grass. Plant the Napier grass at a spacing of 1m between plants and, wider than usual, with 2m between rows. Make holes between rows of the newly planted Napier. Alternatively add 15 kg dry farmyard manure to the seedbed before planting.
Why is it called tick trefoil?
Tick trefoil flowers have the familiar shape of all pea-family flowers. Tick trefoils have compound leaves with three leaflets, thus the name “trefoil.” Tick trefoils live in a variety of habitats. This one was growing in an upland forest in the Ozarks.
What is desmodium grass?
Desmodium is a trailing or climbing perennial legume with small leaves and deep roots which, in favourable conditions, forms very dense ground cover. Silver leaf desmodium has stems and leaves covered in dense hairs which make them stick to hands and clothing.
How long does desmodium take to mature?
Desmodium – Napier mixture: First harvest should be at least four months after establishment or when the Napier is about 1 m high and at an interval of 4 to 10 weeks thereafter.
How do you harvest desmodium?
Spray against harmful pests, especially when producing desmodium seed. Harvest seed when the pods have turned brown by hand stripping the ripe pods and store in a dry place after threshing to avoid rotting. Cut and feed in green form. Cut and conserve as hay, whole or chopped.
How do you grow desmodium in Kenya?
Use 3–5 kg/ha (2 kg/acre) desmodium seeds. During planting, mix seed with 2 bags of TSP or 4 bags of SSP fertilizer. Farmers can also use 5–10 t/ha of well-decomposed farmyard manure. Drill the seed into shallow furrows 2.5 cm deep spaced at 30 cm or 50 cm; cover with little soil.
Why is it called beggar’s lice?
The flattened, hairy pods stick to clothing and animal fur, hence the names “beggar’s lice” and “tick trefoil.” (“Trefoil” means “three-leaved.”) Some desmodiums are used in agriculture to repel insect pests, inhibit the growth of weeds, enrich the soil, and create fodder for livestock.
How does desmodium look like?
Greenleaf desmodium is a large trailing and scrambling perennial. It has a strong taproot and the long trailing stems can root at the nodes if in contact with moist soil. These stems are grooved, hairy and reddish-brown in colour and branch freely; it is finer and less hairy than ‘Silverleaf’ (D. uncinatum ).
How do you feed a desmodium to a cow?
Chop and mix thoroughly with other forages, such as maize stover or Napier grass, then feed to the animals. Tree to six kilograms of green desmodium is equivalent to one to two kilograms of the commercial concentrate. Excess desmodium may be cut, dried and baled into hay and used as a protein supplement.
How do you preserve desmodium?
