Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: August 30, 1999
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract:
Forage legumes are an important component of grazinglands throughout the world. This book is a well-written text on major forage legumes of worldwide importance. The book contains nine chapters including an introduction, seven chapters devoted to specific legumes, and a discussion of prospects for the future. Each legume chapter contains sections on growth, development, physiology, nitrogen fixation, agronomy, management, utilization, forage quality, and animal productivity. The strength of the book is chapters on white clover, alfalfa, and red clover which comprise almost two-thirds of the book's length with more than 950 literature citations. Current sections on elevated carbon dioxide and global warming, nitrogen loss to the environment, conservation, improving range lands, and alternative uses of forage legumes set this book apart from other more-dated forage books. Chapters on subterranean clover and birdsfoot trefoil provide a good summary of the current status of these forages. Information on alsike clover, sainfoin, serradella, sulla, and tagasaste is included, yet the authors choose not to include common forage legumes such as annual clovers, kura clover, lespedezas, vetches, sweet clover, and lupines. Many of these forage legumes are of more interest to worldwide readers than the five minor legumes included. The authors conclude with a section on prospects for the future citing the potential for future forage legume utilization and improvement. Overall, this book is an excellent reference of current information on the major temperate forage legumes with only limited reference to a few minor forage legumes.
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