Grasses and Legumes at The Banana Field in The Panabo City, Philippines

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VIII, Issue VIII, August 2021 | ISSN 2321–2705

Grasses and Legumes at The Banana Field in The Panabo City, Philippines

Jovany Gleen L. Allawan
UM-Panabo College, Philippines

Abstract. Grasses and legumes play a major role in improving farm productivity in agriculture. The study determined the species of grasses and legumes at the banana field in the Panabo City, Philippines. A field layout was used as a guide in tagging the banana plants, which would correspond to a particular area in the field. These quadrats became the sampling plots of the study. The data collection was conducted in every randomly selected quadrat. Grasses and legume species enclosed in the quadrat were counted and descriptively characterized using a key identification guide on the basis of their morphological characteristics and with final confirmation from an expert. Data on species frequency, species diversity, and population density was also determined and analyzed total nitrogen and moisture content. The results showed four species of grasses (Chloris barbata, Echinochloa colona, Eleusine indica, and Rottboellia cochinchinensis) and two species of legumes (Mimosa pudica and Mimosa diplotricha). Based on the abundance and mean densities of grasses in the banana field, R. cochinchinensis dominated the study area, while the most abundant legume species was M. pudica. Soil analysis was found strongly acidic and there was a deficient of potassium, very low of phosphorus, and less organic matter. In addition, M. pudica had the highest nitrogen content of 3.14 while M. diplotricha had the highest moisture content of 82.6 among the identified species.

Keywords: grasses; legumes; banana field; tissue moisture and nitrogen content; Panabo City

I.BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Grasses and legumes are typically defined as crops used to protect agricultural soils and improve soil productivity. They are generally non-cash crops and rarely harvested. They may be used as green manure crop incorporated into the soil to increase soil organic matter and stimulate soil biological activity or improve soil physical characteristics. Grasses and legumes are also used to protect the soil from wind and water erosion (Entsminger, 2014). The use of cover crops in well-planned crop rotations can help interrupt the life cycle of many fungal, bacterial, insect, or nematode pests (Walter et al., 2012). To interrupt pest life cycles, it is important to select cover crops of a different family than that of the future cash crop so that they do not harbor pests that can negatively impact the cash crop that will follow (Moines, 2018). It may also attract beneficial organisms that prey upon or parasitize pests. Some cultivars of brassica crops or mustards and pearl millet have been reported to suppress harmful nematode populations. Cover crops can contribute to pest management and reduce the use of pesticides (Ussery, 2011).
The Philippines contains 1.5 million hectares of grassland that is open to the public. Grazing is available to

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