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Taxonomy and synonyms
Canavalia brasiliensis belongs to the subtribe Diocleinae,
tribe Phaseoleae in the subfamily Papilionoideae,
family Leguminosae (Fabaceae).
Synonyms:
Canavalia amazonica Piper, C. caribaea Urb., C.
fendleri Piper, C. leptophylla, C. mexicana
Piper, C. panamensis Piper, C. paraguayensis Piper,
C. prolifica Piper ex Ricker and some others
Common names and cultivars
Common names are Brazilian jackbean and, locally, Feijão bravo
do Ceará (Brazil). No commercial cultivars are known.
Description
Canavalia brasiliensis is a weakly perennial, prostrate to
twining herbaceous legume. Leaves are trifoliolate, leaflets ovate
with acute apex, 12-15 cm long and 8-10 cm wide, almost glabrous.
Inflorescences are axillary racemes, 20-26 cm long, with purple flowers,
2-2.5 cm long. Pods are glabrous, 12-20 cm long and approx. 1 cm wide,
of brown to dark-brown color, dehiscent with an average of 12 seeds.
Seeds are light-brown to brown, approx. 11 mm long and 8 mm wide,
with a black hilum, 6 mm long. 1000-seed weight is 590-730 g. There
is a high level of hardseededness and consequently dormancy. The number
of chromosomes found in C. brasiliensis is 2n = 22 (Alves et
al., 1989).
Geographic distribution and adaptation
Canavalia brasiliensis is a New World species with a very
wide natural distribution that extends from north of the Tropic of
Cancer in Sinaloa, Mexico, to 27° S in NE Argentina. There are
three major distribution centres in (a) Central America, Mexico and
the Caribbean, (b) Paraguay, NE Argentina and S Brazil, and (c) NE
Brazil (Sauer, 1964).
Seed germination of C. brasiliensis was shown to be tolerant
to salinity up to a NaCl concentration of 200 mM (Cruz et al.,
1995). The adaptation of adult plants to high salt contents is not
conclusive; however there are indications that C. brasiliensis
uses high salt concentrations in the tissue to increase the osmotic
potential and thereby achieve a higher salt tolerance (Vidal et
al., 2000).
C. brasiliensis is tolerant to drought. For example in the
Brazilian Cerrado it can be cultivated successfully as green manure
during the dry season. It survives the 5-month dry period (May-September)
even in very dry years and is very productive under more favourable
conditions (Burle et al., 1999). Moreover it regrows quickly
at the onset of the rains and as a result can suppress weeds (Carvalho
et al., 2000).
C. brasiliensis grows well on a wide range of soils, from
very acid (pH 4.3) to alkaline (pH 8.0) and is adapted to low fertility
conditions (Espíndola et al., 1997; Peters et al.,
2002). Root growth and biomass production are affected by soil compaction,
though less than in the case of the jackbean (C. ensiformis)
(Alvarenga et al., 1997).
Seed treatment before sowing
Scarification of seeds before sowing is necessary to break hardseededness
and to subsequently obtain an even establishment. With 75 minutes
sulphuric acid or 30 minutes hot water (80 °C) treatment, germination
rates of 80% and 50%, respectively, can be achieved (Cruz et al.,
1995).
Land preparation and sowing
C. brasiliensis is sown in rows 40-50 cm apart and with 20
cm distance between plants in the row, equivalent to 50 kg seed/ha.
For seed production, seeds are sown in rows 1 m apart and 20 cm between-plant
distance, equivalent to 20-30 kg/ha of seed. Seed is sown at a depth
of 2-5 cm (Burle et al., 1999; Peters et al., 2002).
Agronomic performance
Canavalia brasiliensis has not yet received the wide attention
of the jackbean (C. ensiformis); all studies reported in
the literature were done in Latin America.
C. brasiliensis establishes quickly though not as rapidly as
C. ensiformis. It develops a dense and extensive root system with
many fine roots. It extends roots deeper than C. ensiformis
and rapidly reaches the subsoil ensuring an enhanced uptake of ground
water and nutrients (Burle et al., 1992; Alvarenga et al.,
1995).
As a green manure, average dry matter (DM) production is 5000 to 7000
kg/ha/year, with extremes ranging from 1700 to 14,200 kg/ha/year (Lathwell,
1990; Alvarenga et al., 1995; Amabile et al., 1996;
Carvalho et al., 2000; Piccolo, 2002). Compared to C. ensiformis,
productivity of C. brasiliensis is lower but more stable and
less affected by adverse environmental factors (Amabile et al.,
1996).
Utilization
Use of C. brasiliensis is mainly as green manure, and for
fallow and erosion control. In view of its ample and deep root system,
the species can contribute to amelioration of soil structure, to stabilisation
of erosion prone areas and to nutrient cycling.
Because of the medium decomposition and N mineralization rates of
the biomass, the nutrient release synchronizes well with the nutrient
demand of annual crops such as maize and rice, when the green manure
biomass is incorporated before sowing of the succeeding crop (Burle
et al., 1999; Cobo et al., 2002a). As a result, N recovery
is higher than for most other green manure plants and can reach N
recovery rates of mineral N fertilizer (Lathwell, 1990; Demetrio et
al., 1998).
In Central America, C. brasiliensis is also used to improve
the value of stubble grazing during the dry season. In poor regions
of NE Brazil, seed is used as food in times of low food availability
(Oliveira et al., 1994).
Diseases and pests
No diseases or pests of economic importance are reported. However,
C. brasiliensis is a host plant for the white fly (Peters et
al., 2002).
Forage quality
There is little information on herbage quality of C. brasiliensis.
According to a study of Cobo et al. (2002b), the biomass at
the flowering stage contains 44.5% C; 3.71% N; 33.5% ADF; 44.1% NDF;
10.6% hemicellulose; 6.52% lignin; 8.42% polyphenols; in vitro dry
matter digestibility is 69.6%. In that study, C/N ratio was 12 while
other authors report a C/N ratio of up to 16 (Demetrio et al.,
1998; Carvalho et al., 2000). Mineral content is similar to
other tropical forage legumes, with the exception of the high Ca content
(1.5%) in C. brasiliensis (Alvarenga et al., 1995; Cobo
et al., 2002b). Though no concrete data were presented, tannins
and saponins are reported to be medium; contents of flavonoids and
flavans are low (Pessanha et al., 1995). As cut forage, it
was well accepted by goats and sheep in Nicaragua (Caballero et
al., 1995).
Seeds contain 31.9% (Gomes et al., 1988) to 41.6% (Mayworm
et al., 1998) crude protein, 52.3% carbohydrates, 12.3% crude
fibre, 2.8% ash and 1.2% oil (Gomes et al., 1988, Mayworm et
al., 1998). About 35% of total nitrogen is non-protein nitrogen,
with the toxic amino acid canavanin contributing the major part (Gomes
et al., 1988). The main storage protein is analogous to the
canavalin found in C. ensiformis (Barcellos et al.,
1993). Limiting amino acids are methionin, cystein and tryptophan
(Gomes et al., 1988; Oliveira et al., 1994).
Besides the low concentration of sulphur containing amino acids, nutritional
quality of seeds is further reduced by antinutritional compounds.
These include trypsin inhibitors, concanavalin Br, canavanin and canatoxin.
The lectin concanavalin Br forms about 20% of total protein. It has
a similar amino acid sequence to lectin ConA found in C. ensiformis,
but has a higher reactivity; it led to higher biological reactions
in trials with rats. The lectin itself is indigestible and is reduced
through legation with carbohydrates; also their digestibility. Through
inhibition of digestive enzymes and attachment to glycolipids and
glycoproteins of the mucus membrane of the digestive tract, it affects
digestibility in general, including protein digestibility. Moreover,
the lectin affects the immune system, protein metabolism and hormone
regulation. The toxic effects of Con Br have also been tried for use
against insect pests (Isidro et al., 2001). The concentration
of the toxic amino acid canavanin in the seed is about 5% of DM. The
mechanism of its antinutritional effect is not yet clear; however
it is assumed that canavanin acts as an anti-metabolite to arginin.
The protein canatoxin is often mentioned in literature, but it is
only toxic when injected and not through oral consumption; hence it
cannot be considered a really anti-nutritional factor (Gomes et
al., 1988; Barcellos et al., 1993; Oliveira et al.,
1994; Carlini and Udedibie, 1997; Sanz-Aparicio et al., 1997;
Grangeiro et. al., 1997; Udedibie, 2001; Ramos et al., 2002).
In a feeding trial with rats, untreated seed led to a pronounced reduction
of intake, protein digestibility and protein utilization; bodyweight
was reduced and protein deficiency and direct effects of canavanin
resulted in hypertrophy of inner organs (Oliveira et al., 1994).
To inactivate the antinutritional compounds, seeds need to be broken,
soaked in water for 48 hours and subsequently cooked for one hour
(Carlini and Udedibie, 1997; Udedibie, 2001).
Main attributes and shortcomings
Published information on C. brasiliensis is scarce. However
it is a species of high agronomic potential, mainly for soil conservation
and amelioration. Its main characteristics include drought tolerance
and adaptation to a wide range of soil pH and low fertility soils.
The quality of foliage is largely unknown but may be limited by antinutritive
factors. C. brasiliensis is a host plant for white fly.
References
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