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Voandzeia subterranea (L.) DC. |
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Leguminosae
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Author: Le Houérou |
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Bambara groundnut, Earth Pea, Vouanzou Annual herb. Fertilized flowers are geotropic, as in groundnuts and buried beneath the soil surface. Pods are one-seeded. Minimum rainfall requirement is about 500 mm MAR, therefore suited to for the southern Sahelian and northern Sudanian ecozones. Vouandzou prefers light, deep sandy soils, similar to goundnuts. It requires a soil with a soft surface and a loose structure. The species is endemic to the southern Sahelian an northern Sudanian ecozones of Chad, Mali, Niger, North Nigeria, North Cameroon and the North Central African Republic, but it has been dispersed by man to Egypt, the Rep. of Sudan, East Africa and Madagascar. It is often, like cowpea, grown as an intercrop with millet. It is a dual purpose crop, just as groundnuts, cowpea and pigeon pea. The bambara nut is part of the human diet while the haulms are excellent fodder. Yields are comparable to groundnuts under similar conditions.i.e. 1,000-3,000 kg dry nuts / ha / yr and 700-2100 kg DM haulms / ha/ yr. The bean contains 14-24 % CP and 6 % of an edible oil (i.e about 50 % of Arachis groundnut) it is therefore not considered as an oilseed crop. The plant has also a number of medicinal uses, to cure venereal diseases and as an aphrodisiac. It is one of the main staple foods in parts of the Sahel and Sudanian savannas, with cowpea, millet and groundnut. |