Mucuna bracteata - A Super Legume Cover Crop Revisited

This paper details a viable method of large-scale propagation of Mucuna bracteata (Mb) using single-node stem cuttings and documents the dry biomass production of Mb of 28mt/ha in the open and 13mt/ha under 60-70 per cent shade of six-year oil palm. Huge amounts of nutrients were recycled through leaf litter, estimated at 531kg/ha and 263kg/ha of combined NPKMg nutrients in the open and under shade respectively, 75-83 per cent being nitrogen. The soil under Mb was enriched, particularly at 20-30 cm depth - organic carbon, total phosphorus, exchangeable potassium and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were significantly improved.