Fallow legumes on the wet tropical coast: Some species and management options

Fallow legumes traditionally are grown over the summer period between plough out and replanting of sugarcane the following autumn. In many situations on the wet tropical coast, fallow legume crops are of a very poor standard because of waterlogging, weed infestation and volunteer sugarcane. In experiments at Tully in the 1994/95 summer, encouraging results were obtained when legumes were grown on raised beds, treated with herbicide, and generally managed as a crop. The results also indicate that soybean is a more suitable legume than cowpea, as it is likely to adapt better to wet conditions and contribute considerably more nitrogen for the following sugarcane crop.