Effect of cutting height and frequency on Leucaena leucocephala forage and wood production
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Leucaena leucocephala is a fastgrowing tree that can provide both high quality forage and firewood. The objective of this trial was to determine the optimum height and frequency of cutting for both wood and forage production. Cutting heights at 0.3 m, 0.6 m and 1.0 m were superimposed on 3month and 6month cutting frequencies on mature rows of L. leucocephala for three years. Effects of year or its interaction with the other factors were not significant (P0.10). There was an increase (P=0.07) in wood production but not forage production (P0.10) with the longer interval. Cutting height had an effect on forage (P<0.001) production, with 5.47 t ha1 a1 for the 0.3m height, 7.62 t ha1 a1 for the 0.7m height, and 8.71 t ha1 a1 for the 1.0m height. Cutting height also had an effect on wood production (P<0.001), with 7.22 t hd1 a1 for the 0.3m height, 9.33 t ha1 a1 for the 0.7mheight, and 11.55 t hd1 a1 for the 1.0m height. In this experiment, the sixmonth interval produced more wood than the threemonth interval, but there were no differences in quantity of forage dry matter in L. leucocephala; there were advantages in both wood and forage production with the taller trunk base. 1998 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
