ASSESSMENT OF LEACAENA LEACOCEPHATA INTRODUCTIONS IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

WONG, C.C., CHEN, C.P. and AJIT, S.S.

SUMMARY

Seventy-six accessions of Leucaena leucocephala from Philippines were introduced and evaluated in small plots for adaptation to the Malaysian environment at MARDI, Serdang over a four-year period. The accessions were agronomically scored for their growth performance in terms of plant height, stem girth, shoot regrowth vigour, leafiness, dry matter yield, pests and diseases. Dry matter yields were positively correlated with plant height, stem girth, shoot regrowth, vigour and minosine percentage but negatively correlated with leaf-stem ratio and flower density in the first nine weeks of regrowth. Foliar nitrogen percentage was generally high (4% as dry matter) among the promising accessions. The results enabled identification of the top 20 accessions inclusive of the controls. Philippine accessions Nos. 5, 13, 19, 30, 55, 62,65,69 and 70 were productive to warrant further critical evaluation.

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