Ideas Corner: The usage of Crotalaria

Abstract

Crotalarias can be used in a variety of ways. Now when we are searching for a suitable feed for cattle from the crops which are utilized already in some other way as it is, for instance, in the case of molasses, Crotalarias should draw our attention also. They are already cultivated in Tanzania and they have been proved suitable for feeding domestic stock. The following note outlines briefly some of the present usage of Crotalarias by the farmers in Tanzania. These include its use as a stock-feed, weed killer, fertilizer and high altitude crop. It is suggested that the above together with its fibre producing, and therefore industrial, capacity offers a fair range of possibilities which should be looked into more closely.