Cyamopsis tetragonoloba

Guar, cluster bean

Erect annual herb 1-2 m high with trifoliate leaves and rose-coloured flowers. Drought resistant. Cultivated as grain, fodder or vegetable. Poor for grazing because of its hairy, nettly leaves. Begins fruiting two months after sowing. Can be cut for fodder as soon as the pods begin to develop. Palatable to stock if cut and wilted. Often grown with sorghum.

The seeds are used for extraction of gum (mannogalactan). The residue, guar meal, is unpalatable and toxic. Untreated guar meal can constitute up to 25% of cattle rations, and up to 10% of poultry rations. Owing to residual gum in the meal the faeces will be watery and sticky.

Detoxified meal can be used as the sole protein component of cattle diets.

As % of dry matter

DM

CP

CF

Ash

EE

NFE

Ca

P

Ref

Fresh aerial part,

pre-bloom, India

16.0

22.7

17.0

1.9

42.4

1.80

0.10

279

Seed-harvested vines,

India

10.6

23.9

10.6

1.5

53.4

1.27

0.26

378

Fresh, stems, India

6.8

48.0

4.5

1.0

39.7

0.75

0.12

"

Leaf meal, India

85.8

22.5

9.7

14.4

3.5

49.9

96

Hay, India

25.2

13.8

16.5

0.9

43.6

2.42

0.27

436

Pods, India

10.6

23.9

8.4

1.3

55.8

1.16

0.26

"

Seeds, India

92.4

28.0

5.0

4.0

3.7

59.3

378

Detoxified guar

meal, Pakistan

94.2

42.9

7.2

8.8

5.2

35.9

238

Untreated guar

meal, Pakistan

94.8

41.1

6.8

7.6

5.0

39.5

"

Gum, India

6.1

47.6

4.7

1.0

40.6

0.82

0.10

436

Digestibility (%)

Animal

CP

CF

EE

NFE

ME

Ref

Browse, pre-bloom

Cattle

77.0

26.0

39.0

70.0

1.88

279

Vines

Cattle

61.5

75.8

24.2

78.3

2.48

378

Seeds

Cattle

79.3

0.0

59.5

72.0

2.68

"

Detoxified meal

Cattle

93.9

27.7

91.0

63.2

3.00

238

Untreated meal

Cattle

95.5

26.4

88.6

53.0

2.86

"

Amino acid composition as % of crude protein

Seed

Ref

485

Arg

Cys

Gly

Hys

Ils

Leu

Lys

Met

Phe

Thr

Try

Tyr

Val

12.5

0.6

5.1

2.5

3.2

5.9

4.0

1.4

3.7

2.8

1.9

3.3

4.2